Run Away Forever
by dark-ninja-ayane
Summary: She was a ninja who always thought she was hated, so she kept fighting to try to run away from the truth... and the pain. But she also strongly fought for things she believed in. Koenma saw this and offered her a chance to join, but can she be trusted?
1. A Ninja Detective

DarkNinjaAyane- Ok. uh... im sorta new to dis so plz tell how u like it...

_Disclaimer- I do not own yyh (sadly) or any of the characters except for my ninjas. _

**Mission Over Mission- A Ninja Detective**

Yusuke and the gang were coming back after completing there mission, Yusuke and Kuwabara were pretty hurt. Kurama didn't have too many injuries while Hiei didn't have as much as a scratch on him. They were walking to the portal when a little boy in a red ninja outfit stepped in their way. He had light brown hair and orange eyes. He just stared at the detectives while they stared back.

"Could ya move kid?" Yusuke asked irritated.

The little boy didn't respond but continued to stare at them. Hiei glared at the little boy who was frightened by it but still he didn't move. He looked at each one of them and finally spoke.

"You're trespassing in our territory! Get out!"

"Yeah yeah. We're goin. Just get outta our way," Kuwabara said to the little boy.

He still didn't move. Hiei was almost beyond irritated by this boy already. He glared hard at the boy and then drew his katana halfway when the little boy was called.

"Katsu!!" someone shouted.

Katsu and the gang looked over in the direction they heard the voice from and that's when they finally notice the village right beside them.

"Come here!!" an old man shouted. He looked around seventy. His hair was almost gray and he had chocolate brown eyes.

The little boy obediently walked over to the old man and bowed. The old man glared at the little boy with anger flaring in his eyes.

"Do you seriously think she will come back alive, Katsu? That mission was far too intense for her to even begin with!" the old man yelled. "She won't make it back alive! You'd be lucky if that happens! You'll gain nothing good from her! I don't believe in her! I don't see why you do! Now get back inside and continue your training! I'll come inform you when the team comes back _without_ her!"

He smacked the boy on the back pushing him inside the village gate. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara were shocked at how he treated the young boy. After all, he only looked about five or so. The old man turned to look at the gang finally noticing them. His glare that he used on the boy was now warm and friendly.

"Excuse me young lads, you are trespassing in our village's territory," he stated. "May I ask what business you have here?"

"We were just passing by," Kurama answered.

"Oh my! I see you have some injuries. Come and rest at the village for a while," the old man insisted.

"It's quite alright sir. We must get going," Kurama protested.

The old man kept insisting until Kurama finally gave in and agreed to stay. They soon learned that he was one of the three elite ninjas. His name was Gosuma Imaru.

"My name is Kurama," Kurama said introducing himself.

"Urameshi Yusuke."

"Kuwabara Kazuma."

Imaru looked over at Hiei who didn't bother introducing himself. Kurama cleared his throat trying to signal Hiei to introduce himself but Hiei ignored it. He sighed to himself.

"My apologies, this is Hiei. He doesn't like to talk much," Kurama said.

Imaru nodded in acknowledgement. A few moments later, a young female ninja came in and bowed down.

"Imaru-sama, they've returned," she informed.

"Thank you Jiruma," Imaru replied as he got up and went outside towards the village gate.

There was a group of five ninjas walking in. Katsu was there hugging a girl who pulled down her mask revealing her beautiful face. She had very light sandy brown hair very light, pale, blue eyes. They were so light and pale it almost had a mixture of gray in it.

"You made it! I knew you would!" Katsu exclaimed in joy.

She smiled Katsu and so did the other ninjas except one of them, but the smiles quickly vanished when they noticed Imaru walking towards them. Imaru glared with absolute hatred in his eyes at the young girl. Katsu hid behind the girl and the gang stayed a few feet away. Imaru walked up to the girl and swung his arm forcefully connecting hard with the girl's beautiful face. The four ninjas, Katsu, and the gang gasped. The villagers all turned to watch what was happening.

"Why are you still alive!?" Imaru yelled furiously. "When will you die and leave us alone!? You're nothing but a burden to the village! No-one wants you here other than Katsu who is too young to understand what you are and what's best for him!! Do you even know how much you are unwanted and despised here!? You are nothing more than an unwanted piece of trash full of nothing but trouble that won't be discarded!!"

Imaru stomped off angrily as the villagers glared at the young girl and walked away whispering. The four ninjas ran to catch up to Imaru to talk to him while Katsu ran to talk to the girl. The gang stood where they were, close enough to hear both of the conversations. Imaru's conversation came first.

"Imaru-sama!" one of the ninjas called.

"What!?" shouted the angry old man.

"Did you have to embarrass her like that?" came a female voice.

"Yeah. You know she _did_ go on that mission to help the village, to help you," came a male voice this time.

"You're being blinded!" he shouted at the four ninjas and continued stomping off.

They all sighed as they turned around to see Katsu and the young girl about to talk. The gang turned around to look too.

"Why did you let him do that? Why didn't you fight back?" Katsu asked hugging her.

"Because, he's an elite," she answered simply. "To a ninja, we respect these people."

"But he doesn't respect you," mumbled the young boy apparently upset with the elite. "I don't get it! Why does he treat you with so much hatred? He's the one who accepted you into the village? It's not your fault that —"

"It doesn't matter to me," she responded. "All that matters now is that the village is safe for the time being."

The gang, even her four companions and Katsu, stared at her in disbelief. How could she be so forgiving? It was silent for the next few moments.

"You should get going Katsu," the girl said suddenly. "It's getting late."

"Kay," Katsu replied obediently. "See you later than. Bye."

With that the boy was off. The four ninjas sighed once again. They finally turned to meet the four visitors.

"Hey. You guys guests? From the way Imaru-sama was earlier, I don't think he'll remember to give you a place to stay. You should stay with us for the time being," one of them said inviting them to stay.

"Thank you," Kurama thanked. "I believe we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Kurama." The gang introduced themselves with Kurama introducing Hiei for him once more.

"My name's Itake Hiro," he said. Hiro had pale forest green hair and dark sandy brown hair. (like when sand gets wet but a little sharper and darker)

"Sagami Kohira," said a girl with bright yellow hair and bright green eyes.

"Takeru Keta," came a reply from a girl with light purple and yellow eyes.

"Madato Hayate," he said quietly. He had cool light bluish-grayish hair and light gray eyes.

The eight of them began to walk to the ninjas' place silently. They didn't know what to talk about. Actually, they wanted to talk about the girl, but they thought that wouldn't be the best thing to talk about at the moment.

"What's the problem with the girl?" Hiei asked out of nowhere.

The ninjas except for Hayate stopped and turned to stare at him.

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted as he quickly turned to the ninjas. "I'm sorry! You must excuse him! He didn't mean anything by that!"

"Everything," Hayate said quietly answering Hiei's question before the other ninjas could respond to Kurama's apology.

"Hayate!" Kohira shouted at him as the ninjas glared at him and the detectives looked him oddly.

Hayate didn't look at them but continued to walk. The group fell silent and it stayed that way until they reached the ninjas' home. It was pretty big, a little bigger than an average house. It had five bedrooms on the upper level, a restroom in each bed room and three others in the house. It also had a living room, kitchen, dining room, and a basement.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay," Kurama thanked. "Are you sure it's alright?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine," Keta answered.

Keta, Kohira, and Hiro sat down on one of the five couches in the living room. Hayate stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall.

"Please, have a seat," Kohira invited.

"Thank you," Kurama said as he, Yusuke, and Kuwabara took a seat. Hiei stood with his hands in his pockets.

"Hiei, right?" Kohira asked directing the question to Hiei. "Don't you wanna sit?"

"No," Hiei simply answered.

Hiei noticed Hayate studying him as if he were suspicious of him. He studied Hayate as well. It was silent. The gang felt uncomfortable. The ninjas sensed it so Hiro tried to start up a conversation.

"So… how do you like the village?" he tried.

"It's nice and quiet," Kurama answered.

"What about you three?" Hiro asked Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Hiei who had rarely talked at all.

"It's small," Kuwabara said stupidly.

"Duh, cause it's a village dummy," Yusuke replied. "I think it's really nice. Peace and quiet, something you can never have living in some stupid city."

"It's garbage," Hiei said flatly.

Once again, all of the ninjas turned to stare at him as Kurama threw another glare at him.

"Hiei!" he said between his teeth.

"You'll get use to him," Yusuke said assuringly.

"Yeah. Nothing gets pass his mouth except for junk he doesn't mean," Kuwabara added.

"It really is garbage. Treating one of their own people as if she were some sort of disease," Hiei said emotionlessly.

Three of the ninjas looked down. They knew that what Hiei had said was right. The village was garbage. The little girl helped save the village many times yet everyone hated her. They either acted like she didn't exist or like she was a deadly disease.

"Her name is Sakana Akiya," Hayate said. "She's an outsider that Imaru accepted into the village. Little did he know that she was nothing but bad news. Soon, the village kept being attacked by other ninjas and demons. Many people died because that trash."

"Hayate that's enough!" Hiro shouted.

As soon as Hiro shouted that, he heard a noise coming from the door. The others heard it as well and they all turned around to see the young girl standing there as if frozen in spot. She looked hurt. Kohira, Keta, and Hiro's eyes went wide.

"Oh no…" Kohira whispered to herself.

"A-Akiya, Hayate didn't—" Keta started but didn't get to finish because Akiya ran away.

"Akiya wait!!" Hiro shouted after her. He turned and glared at Hayate angrily. "That's it Hayate!! I've had enough! You're calling her a piece of trash but look at yourself! You're even lower and worse than garbage you hell scum!! Akiya! Wait!!"

Hiro ran out the door after the girl. Kohira and Keta both glared at Hayate before taking off after her.

"Would you like our assistance?" Kurama quickly asked before they went too far.

"It's okay," Keta replied. "This is our problem. You don't need to get involved in such troublesome things. Thanks though."

With that they were off. They caught up with Hiro and decided to split up. After about half an hour of searching, Hiro finally found her.

"Hey! Akiya!" Hiro called.

Akiya quickly turned around and ran away again.

"Akiya, wait!" he called after her.

'_I found her!' _Hiro telepathically sent to the other three ninjas. A few moments later, they all met up while chasing Akiya. Pretty soon, they were back at the house. Akiya decided to go into the house and get away using the back door but as soon as she swung the door open, she saw Hayate and four other people who she didn't know. Everyone in the house turned to look at her as she went back out the door. The gang ran to the door and watched her as she began to run again. She only ran a couple of steps before Hayate appeared right in front of her, caught her and held her tightly in spot so she couldn't run anymore. She struggled to get free but it was no good. Akiya didn't give up though. She kept trying break free of his strong grip around her.

"Hayate," Hiro said. "Don't hurt her."

"Whatever," was his reply.

He took her inside the house as the gang moved out of the way so Hayate and the struggling girl could go in. The other three ninjas followed in afterward. Hayate took her upstairs and put her in her room sealing the windows and door with talismans. He came back downstairs shortly. Everyone was settled down again and as Keta asked an unexpected question.

"What are you guys?" Keta asked.

"What do you mean? We're human," Kuwabara answered quickly.

"_You_ are, and so is Yusuke, but what about the other two? Kurama and Hiei?" Keta asked. "A normal human wouldn't have that much spirit energy."

"You can sense spirit energy?" Kuwabara asked.

"Of course. Every ninja has natural spirit energy they can use, but it depends on if they want to or not," Kohira answered.

"The five of us are ninja detectives," Hiro said. "Every village has at least two. They are sent out to destroy demons and sometimes eliminate other ninjas that are a threat to their village. These missions are ranked, S being the highest, F being the lowest. We've told you who we are. Now it's your turn."

"We told you, we're just people!" Kuwabara desperately tried to convince them for no apparent reason.

"It's alright Kuwabara," Kurama said assuringly. "You are correct. Hiei and I are demons. Kuwabara and Yusuke are humans. We four are Spirit Detectives. The things we do are similar to yours. We must kill demons, and sometimes humans, to make sure that they do not harm the human race."

"Now that we answered your annoying questions, it's time you answer ours," Hiei stated so that everyone turned to look at him.

"Why do you care all of a sudden Hiei?" Kuwabara asked curiously.

"If you think that I would ever care for the well being of a pathetic ningen, then you are greatly mistaken," Hiei replied coldly.

"Yukina knows her, doesn't she Hiei?" Kurama asked knowingly.

"Hn," was all he replied.

_Yukina?_ Hayate thought.

"Yukina?" Hiro asked his groups' unvoiced question. "The ice maiden of Koorime, Yukina?"

"Correct," Kurama answered. "Would it be alright if we asked about Akiya?"

"She's the way she should be," Hayate answered. His comrades and the gang turned to look at him once more.

------------------

Next Chapter's Preview- Akiya's Pain

Akiya's painful past is revealed to the Spirit Detectives. How will they react to what the young girl has gone through? Is she in pain, even after all these years? A demon attacks the village again. Imaru is the target. What's this? Is Akiya risking her life for a village, and most of all, for someone who despises her so much? And what's this? Botan comes to give the detectives their next mission, and it involves Akiya? Koenma is offering her a chance to get away from her current life and begin a new one as a Spirit World Detective. What will Akiya do? Will she take the offer and abandon her village and the few people who believe in her, or will she turn down the offer and continue living her painful life?


	2. Akiya's Pain

DarkNinjaAyane- Before I start the story, I'd like to thank HieiFan666 for reviewing. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Oh, and I'd also like to thank her for telliing stupid me that i posted up the same chapter... : P Umm… now with the story.

Recap- Chapter 1- A Ninja Detective

The detectives stumble across a ninja village. There, they met one of the three elites, Gosuma Imaru, and a young boy named Katsu. Everyone in the ninja village except for her fellow ninja detectives and Katsu utterly hates her. Later on, Hiro invites them to stay at their place for the time being. They talk about Akiya. Hayate told the Spirit Detectives that Akiya was nothing but garbage, and she accidentally overheard. Akiya ran away and Kohira, Keta, and Hiro wounded up having to chase her down and get her back. The young girl ran back to the house to escape by the back door only to be caught by Hayate, who took her to her room and locked her in using talismans. The detectives learned that the ninjas were Ninja Detectives and the ninjas learned that the detectives were Spirit Detectives. The ninjas seem to know Yukina somehow, and Hayate is about to tell the Spirit Detectives about Akiya's past.

**Mission Over Mission Chapter 2- Akiya's Pain**

Akiya leaned against the wall and slid down. Hayate's words would not leave her alone.

------Flashback------

_She opened the door quietly to hear Hayate tell the four unknown people,_

"… _she was nothing but bad news. Soon, the village kept being attacked by other ninjas and demons. Many people died because that trash."_

"_Hayate, that's enough!" Hiro shouted. _

_Her hand dropped from the doorknob and fell to her side. Everyone turned to look at her, staring at her with shocked eyes. She ran away not waiting for an excuse of any kind._

-----End Flashback-----

Akiya got more frustrated as she thought about it. Was that what they really thought of her? Trash? She could here talking from downstairs and sat still, listening to the conversation.

------------------

"She's the way she should be," Hayate answered. His comrades and the gang turned to look at him once more. "That girl will cause nothing but destruction towards people. You think she'll care for the likes of us? She'd kill us all off without hesitation or as much as a second thought."

"Hayate, that's enough!" Kohira shouted. "Why are you always trying to suppress her?!"

"I want to know about her past," Hiei said irritatedly. "I couldn't care less about her pathetic present life!"

The ninjas glared at him. Hayate's glare was the hardest out of the four.

------------------

Akiya didn't want to hear anymore. She'd had enough of hearing herself get criticized for one day. Akiya laid down on her bed to get some rest, but she couldn't. She wouldn't fall asleep. She just couldn't sleep. Maybe she was too stressed. After twisting and turning in her bed for a while, she finally began to feel tired and eventually fell asleep.

-------------------

"I'm so sorry," Kurama apologized with much sympathy. "He's usually not this rude. Hiei, may I have a word with you outside please?"

"Hn," Hiei replied about to walk out the door and Kurama about to get up to follow him.

"No," Kohira suddenly said. "It's alright. He's not to blame. We'll tell you about her past."

"Kohira…" Keta quietly said.

"No, really," Kurama assured, "if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine."

"It's okay," Hiro joined. "It started about twenty-nine years ago. Akiya was a normal human ninja in the Makai. One day, she wandered through the legendary fox bandit's territory, Yoko."

This caught Kuwabara and Yusuke's attention.

"He found her trespassing and captured her, and then tortured her," Hiro continued. "He didn't kill her though. Yoko, being the cruel demon he was, took her to a friend of his, some other demon. They kept torturing her but they wouldn't kill her and put her out of her misery. Yoko's friend was a telepath. He found out where Akiya's loved ones were and brought them back, slowly torturing each one of them to death in front of her. What they did to her was just beyond what we call cruelty. They would torture her until she was on the brink of death, and then heal her and do it all over again. Yoko's friend had to leave one day, so Yoko took her into the woods and used her as his punching bag. She had lost so much blood and she was so injured that Yoko decided to just leave her there to die. She somehow survived and ended up on meeting Yukina. Akiya died saving Yukina from some demon that wanted her a few months later. When she was five years old in the Ningenkai here, Imaru saw her and took her into the village only to have many of the ninjas die protecting the village from being demolished by demons and other ninjas. He soon figured out that it was because of Akiya and, at first, he didn't really make such a big deal out of it. Akiya stumbled upon Yukina one day and had her come over to the village. That's when we met her. Yukina only stayed for about a couple of months when the village was attacked once again but it was a lot worse this time round. A lot of the skilled ninjas were killed… including some people we knew…and… Akiya was almost killed by this one incredibly skilled demon…"

The Spirit Detectives were silent.

"Uh, well, it's been a long day. What do you say we get some sleep?" Kohira asked trying to cut everything off.

Everyone nodded.

"Well now, to get you all settled in," Hiro said. "Yusuke, why don't you sleep in my room? Kohira, Kuwabara will sleep in your room. Kurama, you can sleep in Keta's room and Hiei, you sleep in Hayate's room. Okay?" he finished.

Everyone nodded except for Hayate and Hiei who both just stared at each other.

"Well I'm goin to bed," Yusuke said tiredly. "If you two ever get done with your staring contest, then you both should get some rest too."

Hayate and Hiei both glared at each other until they reached their rooms and went in. Once they were in their room, Hayate threatened Hiei.

"I better not hear another ill comment about Akiya or else, I will kill you," Hayate warned dangerously.

"You should listen to yourself talk and compare it to what _you _say about her," Hiei said evenly. "If you think that I speak ill of her, don't even try to compare

what I say to what you say. If I speak ill of her, then you speak worse of her."

Hiei sat in the corner farthest from Hayate's bed and closed his eyes to get some sleep. Hayate growled while closing the light and sleeping.

-----Next Morning-----

The ninjas, Hiei, and Kurama were up around five while Yusuke and Kuwabara still slept. Hiro walked over to Akiya's room and unsealed her door and knocked.

"What?" came Akiya's voice. She sounded fine now. "Come in."

Hiro opened the door and went in closing it softly behind him.

"You alright?" he asked her. "Sorry about last night."

"It's okay," she answered. It was silent.

-----In the Living Room-----

"Keta and I are leaving now," Kohira told Hayate. "Don't forget to meet us at the training building at eight."

Hayate didn't answer but she knew he heard her.

"We must go and meet someone for a bit," Kurama said.

"Sure," Kohira replied. "You know where we are if you need anything."

Kohira and Keta left. Then about five minutes later, Kurama and Hiei left to go see Koenma.

Hayate went upstairs and stopped in front of Akiya's room. He was about to go in to see how she was after what happened the night before when he heard Akiya ask Hiro,

"Does Hayate really think that way about me though?"

"No," Hiro answered. "He's just having a hard time. There are things… that he doesn't want to accept… and he doesn't know who else to put the blame on. That's all. Don't think much of it."

"How can I not think about it?" Akiya asked a bit shakily. "He has every right to be mad at me. His only family died because he protected me. I feel so… low…"

"Akiya-chan, do you know why Hoyuta-san died to save you? It was because he knew Hayate cared a lot about you even if he doesn't show it," Hiro said softly. "I know Hayate's been acting cold towards you, but that's because he doesn't know how to handle these things correctly."

"You know, Hiro-san, I think that… Hayate-san is feeling the exact same way I am. He probably feels sad and alone. Even if he's always surrounded by good friends like you, nothing seems to be able to pull him out of his pain. I know how he feels, because that's how I always feel. Nothing can ever get me back to the way I was. I hate being so… alone… and I hate it even more knowing that I caused Hayate-san the same pain!"

Hiro didn't reply back. Hayate decided that he shouldn't disturb her and went outside.

-----Later-----

Hiro left her room and went outside. Akiya looked at the clock. It read 7:40. She went to wake up Kuwabara and Yusuke who were still fast asleep. They both groggily got up.

"You guys should wake up now," Akiya said to them. "It's already 7:40. We're supposed to meet the others at the training building by eight."

"7:40!!" both Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted together. "That's so early!"

Akiya smiled and left the room and went to the living room to wait for the two. About fifteen minutes later, they both came down still looking tired. Yusuke looked around a bit and then asked,

"Hey, where did Kurama and Hiei go?"

"I think they went to talk with someone," Akiya answered.

Akiya opened the door and there they were. Kurama and Hiei stood there. Kurama smiled at her. Akiya smiled back and looked at Hiei who just seemed to stare at her. Her smiled began to fade. Kuwabara, Kurama, and Yusuke were already talking to each other though none of the three other than Kurama seemed to notice the two standing there staring at each other. Kurama sensed Akiya was uncomfortable so he asked her a question.

"Oh, Akiya," he began asking, "where is the training building? Weren't we supposed to meet the others there a couple minutes ago?"

"Oh yeah," she responded smiling slightly. "Let's go."

Akiya walked out the door with Yusuke and Kuwabara following behind her arguing over how big the building was going to be. Hiei and Kurama walked a bit behind the group.

'_Is she really the girl?'_ Hiei asked telepathically to Kurama.

'_Hiro said that Yoko tortured her and so did you… It must be her.' _Kurama answered. _'Poor girl…'_

'_Hn…' _

They reached the building after a few minutes of walking. Akiya continued to lead the way in the building as she stopped at the door and swung it open. Hiro, Hayate, Kohira, and Keta were all already there.

"What took you so long?" Kohira asked playfully. "C'mon. Let's start training. We have just enough people for six matches."

Kuwabara looked around and counted on his fingers.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Aren't there only nine of us?"

"Twelve," Keta said pointing to a corner.

Three children were waiting patiently there. The Spirit Detectives noticed the little boy with the light brown hair and orange eyes right away. It was Katsu. Beside Katsu was a little girl a bit shorter then him. She had bright blue hair that went a few inches past her shoulders, and were in a braided pigtail, and soft purple eyes. Next to her was the tallest in the group. The other boy had orange hair and sharp blue eyes. All three of them ran over to Akiya and hugged her. The children smiled at her and she smiled back. Kurama and Hiei stood there, wondering how she could put on such a smile after all the pain she's gone through and is probably still going through. Akiya turned to the Spirit Detectives.

"This is Katsu, Mika, and Yomi," she introduced, gesturing to each child in turn.

"What?!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "These little kids are gonna fight? No way! I'm not gonna fight _them_. It's against my honor code to fight girls and helpless people!"

"Actually," Keta informed, "they're not as helpless as they seem."

"No way," Kuwabara argued. "They're kids."

"Ummm," Akiya began, directing her question at the Spirit Detectives. "Just asking but… who's the weakest in the group?"

"Kuwabara," Yusuke said immediately.

"The ugly guy," Hiei said at the same time.

"WHAT!!" Kuwabara shouted angrily as he turned to Kurama. "I'm not weak! Right Kurama?! Tell em! And who's ugly Hiei?!"

Kurama sweat dropped. "Sorry Kuwabara," he said.

"WHAT!!" Kuwabara shrieked again. "You too?!"

"Okay then it's settled," Hiro said. "Kuwabara and the kids make two matches. The rest of us make the remaining four. Who wants to go first?"

"I do! I do!" Mika volunteered excitedly.

"Then I'll fight too!" Yomi volunteered also.

They both stepped into the ring and took their fighting stances. Hiro waved his hand and the fight began. The Spirit Detectives were amazed at the children's skills. They were only about five or so and they fought almost as well as Kurama. They planned their attacks just like Kurama. Not only that, they were fast; much slower than Hiei, but almost as fast as Kurama. Their stamina was also impressive. They both kept taking hits and wouldn't go down. After a few minutes had past, Imaru came walking in. Mika and Yomi stopped fighting and bowed, then ran and hid behind Akiya as Katsu was doing. He greeted everyone as he glared at Akiya.

"Hello. I'm terribly sorry for yesterday," he apologized. "I was in a bad mood."

"It's alright," Kurama replied politely.

"Oh, a friend is here to see you four boys," he said looking at the Spirit Detectives.

Botan walked in the door with a huge smile.

"Hello!!" she greeted cheerfully.

Imaru smiled. "Well I'll leave you youngsters alone."

He walked away and shut the door.

"So what's up Botan?" Yusuke asked. "Oh yeah, by the way, this is Hiro, Kohira, Keta, and Hayate. The three brats over there are Katsu, Mika, and Yomi. So… what did ya want?"

"Hello," Botan said again to the new people. "Well anyways, um… may I please talk to them personally?"

"Uh, sure," Hiro said. "We'll be outside. Katsu, Yomi, Mika, c'mon."

All of the ninjas including Akiya began to walk out.

"Uh, wait!" she called. "Akiya, this… concerns you."

"Um, okay," she answered as the others gave her a quick glance and left.

Once everyone was out the door, Botan began.

"First off, my name is Botan," she said mainly to Akiya. "I'm an assistant. Now to the point," Botan said turning to the detectives. "Koenma has another mission for you guys. You have to kill a demon named Rejuko. I believe, Akiya, that he has attacked this village before quite a few years back. Am I correct?"

"Yeah," she replied. "He's the guy that killed nearly half of the ninjas and villagers here. Rejuko is extremely powerful. The thing is, he's not just a demon. He's a ninja who believes that ninjas shouldn't be used as a bodyguard or anything like that. He attacks and kills everyone who opposes him, whether they're human, demon, or whatever. I heard that he was trying to destroy the three worlds to restore peace to the ninjas, or some nonsense like that."

"That's the guy we have to stop?" Kuwabara asked. "He sounds strong."

"He's strong compared to you, you mean," Yusuke corrected as he chuckled.

""HEY!!!!!" Kuwabara shouted.

Suddenly, Hiro sent Akiya a telepathic message.

'_Akiya-chan! Get out here! Now!!' _Hiro sent.

The group noticed Akiya's eyes widen a bit before she ran out the door.

"Akiya!" Kurama yelled after her as they raced out the door following her.

Once they got outside, Akiya's eyes widened in shock as did the others. There were many villagers and ninjas lying motionlessly on the ground. She scanned the area near her for her friends and the children. After scanning the place over and over again, she finally found them confronting an enemy who looked like Rejuko. She raced over to them and found Imaru there as well. The gang followed.

"Akiya!" Kohira shouted. "Help us!!"

She got into a fighting stance and pulled out a kunai. Rejuko chuckled and let a small portion of his spirit energy towards the group. The children and the ninjas jumped one way while the Spirit Detectives jumped another way. Imaru disappeared behind Rejuko and threw some shuriken but it bounced off of him. Rejuko had used his spirit energy to shield himself. He speedily turned around and knocked the old elite to the ground. Imaru got up right away back with the ninjas. The small group that was fighting Rejuko formed a small boundary between them, the villagers, and the demon ninja. It was the only thing that separated the villagers from the fight and kept them safe at the moment.

Nobody moved. Everything was quiet except for the light wind that kept blowing. Rejuko smirked and charged straight ahead taking out his kunai. He aimed for the three children who were shoved out of the way by Akiya, who barely managed to dodge the hit. She took her kunai and ran it upward intending to slash him but he blocked it with another kunai. Hiro performed a series of hand seals and yelled out,

"Hundred Bolts!!"

Lightning flew from his hand and raced to Rejuko. He just smirked and deflected the attack by transferring his spirit energy to his kunai and cut right through the attack. Hiro suddenly fell to his knees. He had been stabbed with Rejuko's kunai in the stomach. Hiro smirked and pulled the kunai out of his stomach as Kohira secretly performed a series of seals behind her enemy.

"Razor Water Blast!"

Water shot out of her mouth. It wasn't just regular water though. It was razor sharp. As soon as Kohira called out her attack, Keta began to perform her hand seals. Rejuko pulled out another kunai to block the water attacks when Keta shouted out,

"Windy Breeze!"

The wind began to pick up and began to spin towards Rejuko as Kohira's water attack headed towards him as well. Their attacks unexpectedly came bouncing back at them, scrapping them a bit. Akiya charged in with her kunai as Yusuke prepared his Spirit Gun and as Kurama got ready to summon his Rose Whip. Kuwabara got ready to summon his Spirit Sword while Hiei just stood where he was, like Hayate. Rejuko sent a stronger blast of energy this time at Akiya but miserably missed. When Akiya turned around a bit, she noticed that he wasn't aiming for her! He was aiming for the detectives! Kuwabara scurried out of the way as fast as he could as Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei jumped out of the way. Botan, however, wasn't moving. She was too frightened to do anything. Then, right before the blast hit, Botan had somehow moved ten feet away from where she was before. When the smoke cleared, Akiya saw that Botan was surrounded by the three children. They had actually saved her despite their inexperience in real battle. By the time Akiya turned around, she noticed that the Spirit Detectives and her ninja friends were charging into battle as Hayate performed a series of hand seals.

"Fire Meteor Shower!" he shouted as rocks engulfed in fire came crashing down on Rejuko as the Spirit Detectives' attacks hit.

The smoke was thinner from where Akiya was standing and noticed that their attacks were being redirected to the original owner of them. She didn't have enough time to warn them or do anything big so she performed a Shadow Replication as three clones popped up beside her and knocked Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Kohira, Keta, and Hiro away and took the blast instead. Akiya herself knocked Hiei and Hayate out of the way taking at least half of the blow. Everyone landed safely except for Akiya who was quite injured. Imaru charged in as Akiya shouted for him to stop. She ran in charging at Rejuko as well but he ignored her as he once again, knocked Imaru to the ground. This time, he used some kind of ninjutsu and bound the old man to the ground with some vines as he prepared to kill Imaru. Akiya threw some shuriken at the demon ninja and they all hit him but he seemed to not feel it at all. He took out another kunai and engulfed it with his spirit energy and ran it downward toward Imaru's heart but luckily for the old man, Akiya was able to deflect the attack with her kunai enough to miss his body. She created a clone that got Imaru out of there. Once he was untied, she did a series of hand seals.

"Frozen Bullets!" she shouted as circular, frozen ice balls sped in Rejuko's direction.

She was too focused on the battle to notice that Imaru had run off behind him and tried to attack from behind. When Akiya finally noticed where Imaru had gone, she ran as fast as she could after him. Rejuko once again ignored Akiya's previous attack as he sent a blast in her direction. The young girl dodged it but then realized that it wasn't her he was aiming for. It was Imaru! She abruptly stopped midway through her dodge and leaped in Imaru direction, knocking the old man to the ground with her on top of him as she took the full damage of the blast for the man who hated her most.

"Akiya Ni-chan!!" the three children shouted in worry.

All of the ninjas, including the children, and the Spirit Detectives all attacked at once as Rejuko created a barrier and easily blocked all of their attacks. He frowned. Akiya struggled to her feet falling to her knees, but the look in her eyes stayed strong.

"This village is disgraceful," he spoke for the first time since they've been there fighting. "Are you satisfied with the thought of ninjas being used as tools for the rest of their generations to come?"

"It's better than causing others pain for something _that_ greedy!" Akiya shouted to him. "You're pathetic! A ninja would never be like you! They wouldn't care about such a thing! That's what makes us superior to you!"

"You are still young," he replied. "I will come back once you have made your final decision, and if it is the wrong one, then I will kill everyone here."

"This _is _my final decision," she said firmly.

He just smirked at her and left. Akiya struggled up as Imaru got up and glared at her for a while. Then suddenly, he raised his hand and smacked her in one swift motion. Akiya took a step back, eyes wide in shock.

"How dare you touch me with your filthy hands?!!" he yelled. "Don't ever come near me again!"

Everyone was stunned at what he did to her. She had just saved his life! The villagers all walked to Imaru and thanked him for saving the village. Then they all glared at the girl and walked away whispering. Imaru walked away angrily with the help of his female assistant, Jiruma. Akiya stood there for a while. Kurama was about to approach her and try to comfort her when he felt a hand grab his shoulder firmly and stop him. He turned around to find Keta. She shook her head slightly.

"We should leave her alone," she said quietly. "It's best in this—!"

She cut short when Akiya fell to her knees. Everyone except Hayate and Hiei ran over to her.

"Akiya Ni-chan," the children yelled.

Hiro helped her up and began walking to their house with everyone following. Botan hadn't said a word since the fight. It was unusual. Normally, she would have been cheering and really hyper after what just happened. After all, Rejuko did leave. Nobody thought much of it though. When they reached the house, Botan was back to her normal self. Hiro took her to her room and let her rest.

-----Two Hours Later-----

Akiya came back down perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened. She took a seat next to Keta and greeted the guests. It was the first time she really got to look at the Spirit Detectives and talk to them.

"So you guys are Spirit Detectives," she said with a smile.

"Yup," Yusuke answered.

There was a knock on the door. Imaru came in as he glared at the girl once again.

"You five have another visitor," he said to Botan and the detectives.

"Koenma?!!" the Spirit Detectives shouted.

"What are you doing here Koenma-sama?!" Botan asked.

"No reason," he said coolly.

The detectives introduced Koenma to the ninjas as the ninjas introduced themselves to him. They sat and talked for a while after that when Koenma suddenly asked an unexpected question.

"Hey, Akiya, may I please talk to you personally for a bit?"

"Why?" Hayate asked suddenly. "If _you _have anything to say, why not just say it?"

Koenma looked him in the eye.

"Because what I'm about to talk to her about has to be completely up to her. I can't have you guys around to comment and try to make the decision for her. She has to choose for herself. It's very important… mostly to Akiya." He paused for a moment, as if hesitating, then added, "I'm going to offer her something that will be a very tough decision for her. I can't have _any_ of you interfere with her choice. It would only make it tougher. Akiya, would you please come with me for a bit?"

"Uh, sure," she answered quickly but a bit hesitantly.

She got up and followed Koenma outside of the house. He led her to the front of the woods about a couple of feet away from the house.

"Akiya," he began, "I know everything about you right now. I know about your past with Yoko and his friend, I know about how you came to this village, how they're treating you, and much more."

"And?" she asked, unsure of what he was trying to say.

"I know that you're going through a lot of pain," he said seriously.

Akiya flinched a bit. "That's none of your concern," she said quietly.

"I'm going to be straight and honest with you," he said ignoring her. "This village isn't as good as you think it to be. Why do you want to continue to live in a village where they hate you in return of you saving the village? They don't appreciate you. You know that you're only going to cause yourself much more pain by forcing yourself to stay here. Are you just going to keep making yourself suffer as payment for your sins? If you're going to make amends, then at least do some good for other people while you're at it."

"I already owe this village much more than I have," she said.

"What have they ever done for you that you need to be in debt with them?" Koenma asked her.

"A lot of people have died because of me… and they took me in, didn't they? That's enough reason."

"They took you in just to have someone to put their frustrations and blame on, just to have someone to look down upon and torture. I think that you've done far more than _they _could repay _you_. Akiya, they hate you. They never even bothered to take a look at how you were on the inside. You're full of pain… and you're alone."

"What is it to you?!" she asked getting frustrated herself.

"Here's my offer," Koenma said, "You can either join my team and become a Spirit Detective and escape the pain and make friends and have fun, or, you can stay here… and continue living the way you are. I'm not going to say anymore. It's completely up to you."

Koenma walked into the house leaving her there to ponder over her two choices…

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Mission Over Mission Chapter 3- Akiya's Decision

What will Akiya choose? She has close friends in the village, but Koenma's little speech left her unsure of that fact. Are they really her friends? Or are they just people who really actually think nothing of her, and just keep her around so they can have something entertaining to keep them occupied by watching her suffer? Akiya doesn't want to believe what Koenma had told her at all, but she knew he only spoke the truth and that he was right. If she chooses yes, then she must abandon everything she ever believed in and cut away the only people who ever cared, or at least acted like they cared, away from her life forever, and who knows what else when she joins as Spirit Detective. She knows what will happen if she chooses no, everything will continue the way it is, but will another chance of an offer such as the one Koenma made her ever be able to come again?


	3. Akiya's Decision

Recap- Chapter 2- Akiya's Pain

Hiro tells the Spirit Detectives about Akiya's past with Yoko and Hiei, and how she came to the village, and why Imaru and the villagers hate her so much. Afterwards, everyone met at the training building at eight. There, the detectives were introduced to two new children, Mika and Yomi, Katsu's friends. Imaru came by and dropped Botan off. A little later, a very powerful ninja demon attacked. He offered Akiya a chance to join him, and though she refused, he said that he'd be back when she made her final decision, and if he didn't like it, he would kill her, all of the villagers, and her friends. In the evening that same day, Koenma dropped by and asked to have a word with Akiya. Outside, he offered her a chance to join as a Spirit Detective and escape from her pain, or continue to live the way she is, and continue suffering. He went back inside the house and left her alone to ponder over her choices.

**Run Away Forever Chapter 3- Akiya's Decision**

Koenma went back into the house.

"Hey Koenma, that was quick," Yusuke said.

"Where's Akiya-chan?" Keta asked.

"She's outside," Koenma answered simply.

"Oh," she replied as she began to walk towards the door.

"Leave her," Koenma ordered more than asking. "She needs to think over something… undisturbed."

Hayate glared at Koenma suspiciously before walking to the door and swinging it open. Koenma sighed. Everyone else just looked at him oddly. Hayate went outside and looked at Akiya who seemed deep in thought. The other ninjas and the children went to the doorway with the detectives following. Botan went over to the door as well. Koenma himself went stepped outside a bit to look at Akiya. She finally noticed everyone and stared at them.

"Akiya-chan?" Keta asked. "Are you okay? Why don't you come inside? It's getting chilly outside. You'll get sick."

After waiting for a while for an answer, Hayate walked up to her and forcefully grabbed her arm.

"Get inside!" Hayate yelled.

Akiya's eyes grew wide.

_Koenma was right… _she thought. _They really don't care about me. All those times they were kind to me… they were acting._

She swung her hand out of Hayate's grip and glared at him.

_No! _she thought.

Her eyes softened a bit as she slightly looked down. Everyone noticed her hands ball up into a fist. She suddenly turned around and took off. Hayate's hand extended to grab her arm and prevent her from leaving but he never grabbed her. Everyone turned to Koenma as Hayate angrily walked up to him and roughly grabbed him by his shirt collar. The detectives immediately became alarmed and got ready to go in there to keep Koenma from harm. Hayate threw a punch at Koenma's face but his punch was caught by Hiro.

"Stop it Hayate!" he shouted holding him back. "Doing what you are right now isn't going to help Akiya out of her pain!"

Hayate snatched his fist Hiro's grasp and glared at Koenma, gripping his collar even tighter.

"You better hope that Hiro's around next time because if I find out that you ever try to do any more harm to Akiya, physically or mentally, I kill you!!" he threatened dangerously.

He let go of Koenma and walked away. Hiro, Keta, and Kohira stared at Koenma with slight anger before following Hayate. The three children glared at the teenage ruler.

"We don't appreciate what you're doing!" Yomi said dangerously. "Don't ever go near her again! Or else I'll break every single bone in your body!"

"Consider this a friendly warning!" Mika said in a very firm voice. "If you ever hurt her again, I'll snap your head off!"

"There better not be a next time!" Katsu warned threateningly. "You can't always be surrounded by protection! If there ever comes a time where you make her feel like this again, I'll break you!!"

"I won't stay that long sorry," Koenma said calmly.

The three children glared at him hard, but Koenma only glared back at them. They walked back inside angrily. Hiei, who couldn't care less what happened next, went off somewhere on his own.

"What did you do?" Yusuke asked.

"Not much," Koenma answered. "I only offered her a chance to join up or to stay. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go inside. It's getting cold."

The rest of them walked back inside. No matter how hard the ninjas tried, they couldn't seem to be able to look at Koenma without glaring at him. After all, Akiya seemed upset with whatever Koenma and she were talking about. It soon came time to sleep. Everyone went off to sleep though the thought of Akiya kept them up. It was nearly one in the morning and she still hadn't returned yet. Koenma went outside to get some fresh air.

"What _did _you say to her?" Kurama asked from behind him, leaning against the house, who Koenma obviously had not noticed.

"Ahh!!" he yelled in surprise a bit. "Kurama! When did you get here?"

"It doesn't matter," Kurama answered shortly.

Koenma sighed. "Fine," he said. "I just asked her to either join the team or to continue to live life here, suffering."

"It had to be more than that," Kurama said looking for a further explanation. "She seems like a strong girl."

"She is," he answered.

"Then you tried to persuade her, didn't you?" he asked pushing for a clear answer. "She couldn't have reacted like that if you only said that."

"But she did," Koenma answered quickly.

"Really Koenma, what did you say to her?"

He looked directly at Kurama. From the looks in his eyes, he wanted some answers. He sighed yet again.

"I told her that she was hated and that no-one here appreciated her. They were only using her to take out there frustrations on. No-one paid attention to her and how much pain she was feeling. I also told her that this village isn't all that great and that they only hate her in return for everything she's done for them. Maybe I might've said something about the villagers and her friends keeping her here to have something entertaining to watch like her suffering, but that's it. Then I offered her a chance to join or stay here."

"You questioned her friends' loyalty?" he asked.

"No, not really," Koenma answered him hesitantly.

Now it was Kurama's turn to sigh.

"Koenma, why would you do that? If she wants to stay, then let her. Just like what you said to Hayate and the others, you shouldn't interfere with her decision. Do you want her to join that much?"

"Yes Kurama, I do. She's in a lot of pain. I want to help her get away from it all. If she agrees to join the team, then she can be rid of all of her suffering and then we'll be a lot tougher team. Not to mention that she'll be so happy to be reunited with Yukina."

"But… wouldn't it all be pointless if you force her against her will by questioning her friends' loyalty and her trust in _them_?"

Koenma twitched.

"Whatever Kurama," he said walking away.

-----Akiya-----

_What am I thinking? _Akiya thought shakily._ They care for me a lot. Don't they? They've always been worried about me and my well being… or is that all an act? _

She shook her head and held it in pain.

_What am I thinking? What am I suppose to do? Should I go, or should I stay here? I don't know what to—!!"_

She swiftly turned around. Nothing… she thought for sure that there had been someone there. When she turned back around again, she jumped back a few feet. Hiei just appeared right there in her front of her, staring at her with his crimson eyes. Akiya just stared at him silently. The wind gently blew. She looked down.

"What's wrong?" Hiei asked uninterestedly. She looked at him. "I don't care, I'm just curious about what that baby told you."

Akiya tried to run off but Hiei grabbed her arm. She looked at him.

"Let go," she said firmly.

"No," Hiei challenged.

"Let go!!" she yelled starting to get angry.

"What did he offer you?! And what is the relationship between you and Yukina?!"

"It's nothing god damn it! Now let me go!'

She roughly swung he hand out of Hiei's grip and ran off. Hiei stood there glaring at her as she ran off.

_What's with that onna?_ he thought.

Akiya ran back to the house and quietly went to her room, making sure not to wake anyone up. She shut the door silently and fell asleep thinking about Koenma's offer. Hiei came back about half an hour after Akiya. He went to Hayate's room to get some sleep. When he opened the door, he found Hayate standing there waiting for him.

"I know you met her," he said.

"And?" Hiei asked in an I-don't-care voice.

"What did you talk to her about?" he asked angrily. "What did that guy with the pacifier say to her to be able to get her that upset?"

"I don't know," he answered teasingly but also half truthfully. He really didn't know what they were talking about.

Hayate growled as Hiei went over to the spot where he was the night before and slept.

-----Akiya-----

Akiya twisted and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep. Her clock read 5:33am. Deciding that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, she went downstairs, surprised to find the other ninjas already there with the Spirit Detectives, even Yusuke and Kuwabara. Everyone stared at her as she shifted a bit. She looked down and walked right past them to the door. Kohira's hand grabbed her arm when she was halfway out the door.

"Akiya, what's wrong!" she asked getting irritated that Akiya wouldn't tell them.

"Nothing," she answered with a bit of anger. She wanted time alone to think, but they just kept on bothering her.

_What am I thinking? I've never felt like this before… Why is this happening?_

"We have a right to know," Keta said calmly.

"It's nothing!" she shouted a bit.

"Akiya…" Hiro said quietly.

It's nothing," she said much more calmly. "I just have a headache. I need some fresh air."

She gently pulled her hand out of Kohira's grasp and walked out of the door leaving the others there.

Hiro ran after her.

"Akiya! Wait!" he shouted.

She ignored him and kept on walking. Hiro caught up with her and grabbed her wrist and swung her around to face him. The others followed afterwards. Akiya looked at him with annoyance.

"Akiya, we won't know what's wrong until you tell us," he said softly.

"Nothing's wrong," she replied trying to stay calm. "We can talk about this later. Now if you would excuse me—"

"No!" Hiro said firmly cutting her off. "Let's talk now!"

She stared at him shocked. Hiro had never used a firm tone with her before.

_So this is their true selves. Koenma **was **right then… Argh!! Stop thinking like that! They're worried! That's why they're asking! _she thought.

"What's the matter?" Hiro tried again, his tone a bit softer than before.

"I said nothing," she said calmly once again.

Hiro smacked her in the face. Everyone stared at him in shock. Usually, he's the one who's always trying to keep everything together and prevent such things. Akiya turned her head back around and stared at Hiro in shock. He looked angrily at her. After a while, as if just noticing what he did, he let go of her and stared at her with uneasy eyes. He made his eyes firm again.

"I've been sick of the way you've been acting lately!" he shouted at her. "If there's a problem, then tell us!! Don't just act like everything's okay!! Don't just act like _you're_ okay!! If there's a problem, let us help!!"

"The five of us have been best friends for years," Keta said. "If you feel uneasy, then at least don't try to hide it from us. Would you at least trust us enough to do just that much?"

After some time, she replied. "Sure. Just to let you know, in this kind of situation, a best friend would leave me alone."

She walked away as the ninjas stared at her leaving.

"I feel like she's walking out on us, pushing us away from her," Kohira said a bit shakily.

Akiya, who was watching them secretly from a nearby tree, felt as if something stuck her when she heard that. They all walked back to the house as she went off into the woods. Little did she know, the children followed her. She stopped in front of a lone tree that grew on the edge of a cliff near the ocean. It was a sakura tree. The children who tailed her wondered how a sakura tree could grow near the ocean. No tree such as a sakura tree could grow near salt water. Akiya stared at the tree before the three children came out.

"Akiya Ni-chan," Katsu called as she turned around quickly.

"Katsu, Mika, Yomi…" she said acknowledging each one of them. "Is there something you want?"

"Are you okay Akiya Ni-chan?" Katsu asked innocently.

"I'm fine," she answered assuringly.

"Mika frowned at her.

"No you're not!" she accused. "Why are you lying to us? Why won't you tell us the truth?"

Akiya looked at them, not wanting to discuss the matter, as the three innocent children stared back at her with some what, sadness in their eyes.

"Akiya Ni-chan?" Yomi asked innocently. "Please tell us what's wrong. We want to help. You're in pain…"

Her eyes widened a bit. They had actually noticed… or was it like Koenma said? They knew because they enjoyed seeing her in pain.

_Why am I…_ she thought weakly.

"It's exactly because of that that I don't want you guys to know," she said.

"You're hurt," Katsu said. "You feel alone, don't you? I can tell. We _all_ can tell."

"That's why I keep these kinds of things to myself," she explained. "I don't want to let anyone else feel the pain that I constantly feel."

"But—!" Katsu began.

"Forget about it," she said with a warm smile.

"You always say that!" Katsu yelled at her. "How much longer are you going to keep us away from you!? When are you going to welcome us into yourself?!"

She looked at Katsu a bit taken back. He had tears in his eyes. So did the other two.

"You think you're doing us a favor by keeping these things from us, but you're not! Even if I have Mika and Yomi and the others… if you keep keeping these things from me… without you… I'll always feel alone no matter what!!" Katsu shouted at her as he ran away holding back the tears from falling.

"You were always like this. How can you expect us to truly feel happy and content when you won't even trust us with this much?! Do you have any idea that you're causing us so much pain just by doing this?! We probably can't even imagine the pain of being alone, but we don't have to imagine it any more, do we?! It hurts a lot to know… that the person you care for most… is keeping secrets from you and won't let you help!! It's like you're pushing us away from you and won't let us get close! I don't know about Katsu and Yomi… but to me… that's being alone!!" Mika shouted running away as well, tears managing to escape her eyes.

"Katsu and Mika are right," Yomi said sadly. "You're like our sister. You've always been a guiding light, leading us in the right path in life, helping us make the right decisions, and caring for us and comforting us when we need it, and protecting us from all sorts of things… but… how can we even trust you anymore when you don't even trust us with these little secrets?!"

Akiya looked at him sadly.

"Yomi," she said softly. "I didn't know…"

"And you never will," Yomi said, his voice shaking a bit. "You'll never know the true pain of being alone, because you never really were. We were always by your side! But hearing you that you were always alone, that really hurt. I guess you never even considered us as your friends, or any of the others, because if you did, you would've seen that you were never really alone to begin with! We always cared for you, and you only pushed us away in return!"

"Yomi… I'm sorry," she said softly. "I never knew that I was causing you guys so much pain by keeping these secrets. I thought that if you guys never found out, you'd never have to go through what I'm still going through…"

"You lie!" he shouted. "You just want us to _forget about it_, don't you?! Fine! I'll forget about it, and I'll forget you too!"

He turned around and began to run when Akiya's hand gently grabbed his wrist as he turned around to face her.

"Yomi I…"

"You wanna know what it feels like to have a person walk out on you?! I'll show you!!" Yomi shouted as he yanked his hand away from Akiya's gentle grip and ran away, tears now flowing freely.

The wind gently blew as Akiya walked to the very edge of the cliff. She looked down, clenching her fists tightly.

"Why don't you jump?" a voice asked a bit mockingly.

Akiya turned around to face Hayate.

"Are you here to lecture me about how much pain I've been causing you too?" Akiya asked a bit angry, trying to hide the fact that she was hurt.

"Having trouble babysitting the kids?" he asked mockingly once more.

Akiya looked down and sighed. "Their words cut me like a knife," she said sadly.

"And they should," he answered.

"What the hell did I do wrong?!" she shouted frustrated.

Hayate only stared out to the sparkling ocean as the wind once again, gently blew.

Akiya turned around and began to walk away when Hayate's voice stopped her.

"Everyone lives to achieve their life long goal. Theirs… was to rid you of your pain and make you happy."

"Hn," she said walking away as Hayate's voice stopped her again.

"You should know… not everyone has a life that has a happy and meaningful tale behind it. Let them be one of those people who have that happy and meaningful tale behind _their_ lives."

"Then they should just change their life long goal," she answered. "There's nothing they can do."

"That true… if you won't let them," he replied.

"They're still young. They're weak…"

"That's right. They _are_ weak… and only you can make them become strong. As a ninja, you should also know that what makes a ninja strongest… is to protect something important to them, something that they hold closest to their heart. To them _and _to us, you're that important something."

"What about the others then?"

"They're important too. Don't you get it? Our closest friends are important to us. That's why we hold them closest to our hearts, but there's always one person that's more important to them than anyone else. I don't know about anyone else but… to me… you're that person…" he finished softly and hesitantly.

Akiya slowly turned to look at Hayate, shocked. He never showed any emotion and has always acted coldly towards her. She had always thought that he was angry with her for taking away his only family left, his brother, Hoyuta.

"H-Hayate-san—" she began but Hayate cut her off.

"-kun… Hayate-kun…" he said.

"Hayate…kun…"

"Stay," he said as he walked up to her. "Don't go."

"How did you…"

"No-one told me. We've been best friends for so long. You think I wouldn't know what was bothering you? I know what Koenma offered you, and that's why you've been acting this way lately. I heard him. I heard everything. I don't want you to leave."

"Hayate-kun, I want to go though. I want to have a second chance at being happy."

"So you're gonna leave me all alone this time? Are you going to leave everything behind for those strangers?"

"They're good people. I really want to get to know them."

"Akiya-san, I'm asking you as if we were in deeply in love… would you leave _me _behind for them?"

"Hayate-kun I would… stay…" _I guess…_

"Then stay," he said trying to convince her.

"But were _not_ deeply in love!" she shouted. "There's nothing you can do to convince me to stay!"

"I…love…" he said trying to confess. "I love you a lot…"

Akiya stood, completely frozen. Hayate had never shown this side of himself to anyone before, his soft, caring side. Hayate stood waiting for some kind of reply from Akiya, any kind. He wanted to know how she felt just out of curiosity, but she only stood their, frozen, staring at him as if it were all a dream. Hayate looked at her, searching for an answer in her eyes, but they only showed confusion and most of all, uncertainty. He soon averted his gaze away from her eyes. Akiya looked at Hayate, avoiding his eyes, or at least trying to.

"Hayate-kun," she said, "I'm going to leave."

Hayate's eyes remained emotionless. Akiya had just noticed. The whole time he was talking to her, his eyes had no emotion at all. And his voice… the way he talked was so emotionless. Did that mean that he didn't really mean to say any of it? He silently stared out to the ocean, sparkling beautifully from the sun's reflection.

"Tch…" he said. "Figures, I really _can't_ convince you after all. Do whatever you want. It's not like I give a shit what you do, and I definitely don't give a shit what the hell happens to you."

Akiya remained emotionless as well though she felt something inside her feel somewhat… uneasy. If Hayate had said that to her before all of this had happened, she would've felt something, even if it was very slight. It just bothered her a bit, but she didn't really care about it. It wasn't important to her. She figured that she must've heard that from the villagers so much that she got used to it.

She turned around again and began to walk away, expecting Hayate to say something to stop her again. He walked away as well, but not before stopping her one more time.

"You didn't expect me to say something _nice_ and _mushy_ again to get you to stay now did you?" he said mockingly and disgusted a bit. "Hn. That's why I hate people like you."

Akiya stayed silent and continued to walk away. She stopped at the front of her house and opened the door to go in only to find Hayate about to open the door to go outside again. He walked right passed her without even glancing at her. She stared straight ahead, as if in a trance, as the three children inside did the exact same thing. Hiro, Kohira, and Keta walked up to her and stared at the four that walked off, wondering what was wrong.

"Akiya," Keta started. "Is something wrong?"

As soon Keta asked that, Koenma and the other detectives appeared at the already opened door.

"I'll be right back," Akiya said. "Koenma, we need to talk."

She walked away with Koenma staring at her a bit awkwardly at how she said it. After a bit, Koenma followed her.

"You guys stay here for a bit," he commanded his detectives as he walked away.

The ninjas couldn't help but feel a bit angry and uncomfortable around them. Their boss just completely changed Akiya. It may just seem like she's depressed but the ninjas knew that it had to be more than that.

-----Near the Village's Front Entrance Gate-----

They both stood there in silence. Hayate happened to be nearby. After a while of just standing there, Koenma asked her,

"So uh… what did ya want? Surely you didn't call me out here to have someone to stand in silence with."

"This past day, I've been thinking a lot about what you said and offered me,"

"Welcome to the team Akiya," Koenma said, not waiting for her to finish. "Listen… I'm sorry too. I know I said some things that weren't true to get you to lean more in my favor and–"

"I knew," she answered, "but I want to get two things straight. I don't ever want you to question my friends' loyalty and my trust in them again. Also, I don't want to hear you insult this village and the people in it, ever. They're not trash, and I don't care how much they hate me as long as I can protect them. Got that?"

Koenma's slightly shocked expression for the moment softened into a small, warm smile.

"Sure," he answered. _I'll never be able to understand that girl and how she can be so kind-hearted and forgiving, even after all she's been through…_

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Running Away Forever Chapter 4- Convince Her! Difficulties Leaving

Akiya has her mind made up, but the others don't want her to leave, so what do they do? They all try to convince her to stay. Hayate and the children have already failed. Will, surprisingly Imaru, Kohira, Keta, and Hiro be able to convince her to stay? And will Katsu, Mika, Yomi, and Hayate even bother giving it another try? Deep down, Akiya doesn't want to leave, but she also doesn't want to stay. Which side will pull on her more, the urge to leave, or the urge to stay with her friends?


	4. Convince Her! Difficulties Leaving

thank you everyone for reviewing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**HieiFan666 and AuroraAylashia- **incase you both didn't get my email, don't worry. most of my stories if not all of them are going to be hieixoc

**WhitBlackKaySnape- **thanks a whole lot for reviewing!!

**BG -**um… I'm not sure what you were going to say. I think you left out the last part. _Have you ever tried posting them on ?_ that's what you wrote.

**No-one-** thanks a lot!!

Recap- Chapter 3- Akiya's Decision

Koenma questioned Akiya and her friends' loyalty to her. The ninjas are angry at Koenma for whatever he had said to Akiya to make her act so differently. When the ninjas try to confront her with the problem, she gets angered and pushes them away. Akiya runs off and argues amongst herself about whether her friends really are her friends, or were just pretending all of that time. When Katsu, Mika, and Yomi confronted her with the problem, they winded up getting into an argument. The children, as well as Akiya, wound up getting hurt inside. Them Hayate confessed his feelings to her, or at least it seemed like he did for the moment. He admitted in the end that it was just to convince her not to leave and nothing more. For the rest of the time, Hayate and the three children have been ignoring Akiya. She asked to speak with Koenma personally. Akiya has finally made up her mind. She has decided to join the team, without knowing that Hayate was there listening…

**Run Away Forever Chapter 4- Convince Her! Difficulties Leaving**

"So when are we leaving?" Akiya asked Koenma.

"We were planning to leave in a couple of hours," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I was just wondering."

Akiya noticed Jiruma from the corner of her eye. She walked up to Koenma and Akiya and stared at the young girl.

"Imaru-sama would like to have a word with you," she informed. "Please follow me."

"Okay," she replied. Then she turned to Koenma. "I'll meet you here in an hour and forty-five minutes."

With that, she walked away, following Jiruma. She led Akiya to Imaru's office and knocked lightly on the door before opening it with Imaru's consent. Akiya went in as he signaled for his assistant to leave. She bowed and silently left the room closing the door quietly behind her. Imaru was sitting at his desk. He turned around to face Akiya and looked her right in the eye.

"Rumors have reached me that you are leaving the village soon," he said.

"Yes sir," she answered.

"You're not going anywhere!" he said dangerously.

"Why sir?" she asked.

"Have you forgotten about your debts to this village already?"

"But I thought that you wanted me to leave," she said confused. "Wasn't this what you always wanted ever since that day the village got attacked and brutally slaughtered? I thought you didn't want me around sir!"

"I'm an elite! What I say goes! You are nothing more than garbage, a dog! You will listen to what your master orders! Do you understand me, doggy?!"

Akiya frowned at Imaru and was angered by the comment though she tried her best to stay calm.

"With all do respect sir, I'm not your little puppy!" she said trying to stay calm. "I may be under your command, but I'm not a puppy!"

"You are to stay here and not step a single step outside of this village unless you are on a mission, or gain my consent," he said firmly.

"Sir I thought that this was what you wanted! Why the change of heart?"

"This isn't a change of heart. I'm not permitting you to leave until you repay the village, or are you going to leave now and betray me? Are you going to stoop that low?"

"Sir I never betrayed the village!"

"Really?"

"Fine! If you want to put it that way sir, then let me make a point," she said firmly and angrily while at the same time, trying to be calm once again. "What you said was much on the contrary. If you want to say that I stooped low enough to betray the village, then you've stooped even lower! You betrayed me and the village by making them betray an innocent little girl! If I stooped low to the ground, then you've stooped low to the point where you can't even think about getting back up! I don't even want to try to compare myself to you because just thinking about it… I'd rather go to hell!"

"How dare you!" he shouted furiously at her.

"Sir, I'm leaving," she simply stated. Akiya was about to open the door when Imaru got up and slammed both of his hands on his desk.

"Stay right where you are!" he shouted at her. "You're not leaving until you pay your debt to me _and_ the village!"

Why sir?!" she asked turning around to face him. "I've helped save the village so many times and all you ever did was make them betray me! But you know what hurts even more?! _You_ were the one who led the whole village into that. _You_ betrayed me."

Imaru's hard and hateful glare softened into a gaze.

"Was that really how I made you feel? Like the village betrayed you? Like _I_ betrayed you? Come here and listen to me for a moment," he ordered as Akiya stepped away from the door and walked up to his desk. Imaru took Akiya's silence as a sign to continue. "I didn't know that I made you feel like that, honest. I never meant for it to hurt you so much."

"Then why did you even do it?"

"I was afraid that after the incident that day, you might've left the village out of guilt. Knowing the kind of person you were, I figured that if I made you feel indebted to the village, you would stay to pay it off. You're a stubborn person. I didn't know how else to make you stay. I'm sorry, if I made you feel that bad. I just needed to find a quick and powerful excuse to get you to stay around."

"And this was the best excuse you could come up with sir?" she asked disappointedly.

"I'm afraid so," he answered. "You have to believe me, it hurt me to treat you the way I was, but I could only secretly wish for your forgiveness."

"Sir, you know this doesn't change anything," she said. "I'm still leaving. You think I'm stupid or something? I could tell just by the look in your eyes and the way you speak that everything that just came out now was a bunch of junk. Like you said. It _was_ a quick and powerful excuse, but it's not going to work again."

Akiya turned around, walked over to the door and opened it.

"You disgraceful traitor!" he shouted as Akiya was already halfway out the door. She whirled around.

"Remember this, if I betrayed you, it's because you betrayed me first!" she shouted this time, no longer able to contain her anger.

Akiya slammed the door behind her and walked down the hall when a voice said,

"You know, he wasn't lying…"

Akiya looked up to see Jiruma.

"I know that some of the things he says aren't said in the prettiest ways, but he's telling you the truth none the less," Jiruma said to her. "Akiya-san, please don't leave. Imaru-sama will be saddened by your departure, and so will I… but even more than that, your teammates, and the children, especially Katsu…"

Akiya walked passed her without saying a word. Jiruma didn't push the subject any further as she stared at Akiya leaving the building. When she got outside, Kohira was waiting for her. Akiya sighed. This wasn't how she wanted to leave. Kohira looked at her with an unusual seriousness in her eyes.

"You too?" Akiya asked tiredly.

"Let's go somewhere more private," she said as they walked into the forest. Once they got in pretty far, she stopped and turned to face Akiya. "I've heard already, that you were leaving that is…"

_Not this again…_ Akiya thought.

"Akiya-chan, is this what _you _want or is it what _they _want? Because if that's what they want, then we want you to stay," Kohira said sternly.

"It's not who wants what Kohira-san, but it's a result of everything that has happened in the past years," Akiya answered.

"No it's not. You know, you're probably tired of hearing what I'm about to say, so I won't even go near that. I'm not going to pull you towards one side and away from the other, but you know that there are only two choices that you can make. Either go, and leave us out of your life from this point on and drop everything you've believed in, or, stay and drop _them_. The choice is completely up to you. I can only hope that you choose the right choice."

"And what do _you_ think is the right choice?" Akiya asked her.

"That's up to you," she replied. "My answer would only weigh down one side of the argument…"

Kohira walked away. A couple minutes after Kohira left Keta appeared.

"I'm sure popular today," Akiya stated more to herself then to Keta. "Let me guess. You don't want me to leave, right?"

"No…" she said as Akiya turned around to look at Keta confused. "I just want to make sure that you know something very important. If you join them, and there is a fight between us and their group in the future, you know that you can't come back to our side. We'd have to see you as an enemy, and you would have to see _us_ as your enemy. We'd have to fight against each other, and it's not like sparring during our training. It's like war, families split in two, forced to fight the most important people to them. Are you aware of that? Is that what you really want? If it is, then don't let me stop you…"

Keta turned around and walked away. Hiro happened to be walking by as well. He looked at Keta and stopped her.

"Keta, what's wrong?" he asked in concern. Then he continued on quietly so Akiya couldn't hear him. "When is she planning to leave?"

"I don't know," she said as quietly as Hiro. She looked up at him desperately. "Please, do something! Convince her somehow, to stay!"

"It's not my place to interfere with her choice Keta," Hiro said, sadness in his voice even though he tried to hide it. "If this is what she's chosen, then… I dunno… I won't do _anything_ about it."

"Why?!" Keta asked trying to keep quiet. "Don't you care about her?"

"Of course I do. That's why I won't—"

"No you don't!! You don't give a damn!!" Keta shouted no longer able to hold her anger and sadness in.

Akiya looked up from where she was standing, shocked. Keta was always calm, in almost every situation. She might've gotten mad sometimes, but she never shouted, not to her friends anyway. Hiro sighed heavily as Keta disappeared with a poof. He turned to Akiya and walked up to her. Hiro didn't say anything. He just stared at her as she stared at the ground. The wind blew gently as the two stood in silence. After a few minutes longer, Hiro broke the silence and said,

"You know… it's harder on us than it is on you…" he said looking at the trees.

"I'm losing everyone… you're only losing one person," Akiya said. "You'll find someone else in this world that's like me. The world's a big place. I'm only one person in this big world.

"To the world, you may be one person… but to one person, you may be the world…" he said looking at her again. Akiya looked at him oddly. "Hayate and I are really close friends. You could say that we're brothers, or even more than that. Akiya-chan… Hayate cares a lot about you, as if you were his little sister. If you're not going to do it for us, do it for him. Do it for the person that cares about you most. You're the world to him."

"Hiro-san I—" Akiya said but stopped mid-sentence. Hiro wasn't there anymore.

_This was definitely not how I wanted to let everyone know that I was leaving,_ Akiya thought. She turned around and began to walk out of the forest slowly, beginning to wonder if she made the right choice. She made it outside of the forest as the children were passing by. They looked up and stared at her as she stared uneasily back at them.

"Katsu, Mika, Yomi," she said.

"Akiya Ni-chan," they all said not removing their eyes from her.

"Are you still going to leave?" Mika asked after a few moments of silence.

Akiya nodded not removing her gaze.

"So what we said didn't even make you think it over? Not even a little?" Yomi asked this time.

"To be honest… yes it did," she answered softly. "It made me think it over a lot. It had me questioning myself… on whether I made the right decision or not… but I don't want to change my mind."

"You're so selfish," Katsu said, his voice trembling.

Akiya looked at him. "You're right. I _am _selfish. I can't give you guys what you want… I can only give myself what I want."

"_Want_?" Katsu asked her, his voice still trembling. "I don't want _you_… Who would?"

Katsu jabbed his hands in his pockets and walked away. Akiya didn't remove her soft and sad gaze on him until she could no longer see him. Yomi began to walk away as well.

"You know what?" he asked stopping. "I give up. Katsu's right."

Yomi continued to walk away as Mika looked straight into Akiya's eyes. Akiya stared right back at her. The least she could do for them before she left them all alone was to listen to what they had to say.

"None of us ever wanted you," Mika said really softly, her voice slightly trembling. "We _needed_ you… and we're not mad at you for doing this. We're just disappointed. Katsu wanted you to know that, but he couldn't bring himself to tell you. He was afraid that you'd feel sad…"

Akiya walked and stood beside Mika, her facing one way and Mika facing the other. She raised her hand and softly put it on top of Mika's head.

"Mika…" she said. "I don't know how to show you guys how I feel about doing this. I know this weak, but… sorry… make sure they know that too…"

Akiya left. Mika didn't move. Akiya looked at her from the corner of her eye and forced herself to not go back and comfort Mika. It would only make it much harder for them both. It had already been an hour and a half. Only fifteen minutes before she had to leave. She hoped that she wouldn't run into Hayate. That would make it a hundred times harder for her to leave.

-----Hiro, Keta, Kohira, and Hayate-----

"We couldn't do anything," Hiro said to Hayate. "If you want, you can try one more time. I don't know if you'd be able to convince her but…"

"Please Hayate," Kohira begged. "Don't let her leave."

Hayate, who had his eyes closed and his head tilted downward, looked up. As soon as he did, his eyes went to Keta's immediately. It had automatically drawn him somehow. Keta didn't want to beg with words. Her eyes begged Hayate for her.

"Forget it," Hayate said emotionlessly, still staring at Keta. The moment he said that, her eyes showed sadness and depression. Akiya had been her best friend even though they didn't talk much with each other. She didn't want her to leave.

"Then we better get to the front gate. She'll be leaving soon," Hiro informed.

"We should get the children too," Kohira said.

"Yeah," Hiro replied.

Once they got the children, they began walking to the front gate.

"Hey," Hiro said getting everyone's attention. "Let's not act all gloomy and sad when we see her. I'm sure she'd want to remember us smiling at her, not depressed and unhappy. All right?"

Everyone nodded and continued to the front gate. When they reached it, Akiya was already there, ready to leave with Koenma, Botan, and the detectives. Akiya turned around to have a surprised reaction when she saw who were there.

"So this is it huh?" Hiro asked smiling. "Good luck to you."

Everyone smiled at her and Akiya felt so happy inside.

"Thank you everyone. I'm sorry for all the trouble you guys had to go through," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Kohira said.

"You guys behave. Kay?" Akiya said to the children.

They all nodded and hugged her. Keta didn't say anything but when her and Akiya's eyes met, Akiya knew what Keta wanted to say to her and acknowledged it with a small nod. Hayate, who was standing in the back, hesitated a bit before saying,

"I'd like an answer the next time we see each other."

Everyone looked at him and Akiya, wondering what Hayate meant. Akiya stared at Hayate with shocked eyes. Did Hayate really mean what he meant to say back at the cliff after all?

_This is it… _Hayate thought. _If this can't convince her to stay… then… I won't try to stop her anymore…_

After a while, Akiya smiled softly and nodded.

"Sure," she said. _Your persuasion worked… I convinced me to stay… one side of me… just not the other… I feel bad about leaving now… or at least a lot worst than I did before…_

Akiya said goodbye to everyone one last time as she turned around and began to walk outside of the village.

-----In Imaru's Office-----

"Are you sure that you don't want go down to bid her farewell sir?" Jiruma asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I think that somehow, it's better for her to think that what I said was all a lie. Why aren't you down there saying goodbye to her? You know that this may be your last chance to tell her about yourself."

"No…" she said quietly. "I don't want her to remember… that she and I are half-siblings… more than that… I don't want her to remember… that Rejuko… is my father…"

-----Next Chapter's Preview------

Run Away Forever Chapter 5- An Unpleasant Reunion

Akiya has finally left the village, but when she gets to Koenma's palace and meets someone unexpectedly, she gets upset. It was a person who she had saved a long time ago, but she doesn't seem to be all that grateful. Who is this person, and why do they hold such strong grudges?


	5. An Unpleasant Reunion

I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY THIS ONE TOOK SOOOOOOOO LOOOOOOOOONG! I've been overloaded with projects and homework… literally… and to make matters worse… my computer is half broken so I had to secretly type this on my extra time during my creative writing classes and post it up. I am soooo sorry. I promise to get the next chapter out ASAP. If I don't post in a while again, which I'll try not to do, that means that I'm being overloaded with school work or my stupid com is being a bitch…

Reap- Chapter 4- Convince Her! Difficulties Leaving

Everyone somehow figured out that Akiya was leaving the village and in an attempt to stop her from doing so, they all tried to convince her, even Jiruma and Imaru himself. Her friends Kohira, Keta, and Hiro all tried to talk her out of leaving but failed. Katsu, Mika, Yomi, and Hayate all gave another go at trying to convince her to stay but to no avail. The more they tried to convince her, the more they all got hurt. Finally, they decided to not push the subject any further and let her do as she wished. Also, as Akiya was leaving, Jiruma told Imaru that she didn't want Akiya to remember that they were half-siblings and that Rejuko, the horrid ninja demon, was Jiruma's father.

**Chapter 5- An Unpleasant Reunion**

Koenma led the group to the portal nearby outside of the village. Hiei and Kurama were in the back, constantly starring at the young and beautiful girl, wondering if she had the slightest idea that she just teamed up with the two people that had nearly killed her. Akiya was talking and giggling with Kuwabara and Yusuke as the two boys continuously shouted and hit each other. Both Hiei and Kurama noticed something around her neck that they didn't see before because her hair was tied up now. There was a small silver chain around her neck.

"Excuse me Akiya," Kurama said politely, getting her attention as she stopped and turned around to look at him.

"Yeah?" she asked almost as politely.

"What is that around your neck?"

Everyone stopped and turned around to look at her noticing that thin and small silver chain for the first time.

"Oh this?" she asked gently pulling out the necklace. Everyone saw the beautiful gem around it. "It was a gift from my mother's best friend."

"It's so beautiful," Botan said admiring it.

She smiled a bit. "I think so too. After all, she was a beautiful lady."

"You keep using 'was'," Kurama inquired. "Does that mean that's she's passed away already?"

Akiya nodded sadly. No-one decided to talk about it any longer as they continued walking to the portal.

'_That's a Koorime tear gem,'_ Hiei said telepathically to Kurama. _'How in the world could she have gotten one of those?'_

'_I don't know,' _Kurama answered. _'Perhaps we can ask her about it later.'_

"We're here," Botan announced cheerfully. In front of her was a large purple portal. She jumped in followed by Koenma, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Akiya, Kurama, and Hiei. They all landed in Koenma's office.

"Well this is my office," Koenma informed Akiya. "This place is a bit big so you might wanna ask directions for getting around from the boys." Koenma turned to Botan. "Could you go get her? She should be in her room."

"Yes sir," Botan answered obediently and went out the door.

"Akiya, I'd like you to meet someone I think you'll like," he said smiling. "You two haven't seen each other for a while now. She'll be arriving shortly."

Akiya nodded as she walked over to the wall and waited patiently by the Spirit Detectives. Yusuke and Kuwabara began talking and hitting each other again as Hiei and Kurama were constantly looking at the young ninja. A few minutes later, Botan came in with another girl. When Akiya and the girl looked up, their eyes widened, not because they were happy to see each other again, but because they didn't want to see each other. Akiya and the girl stared at each other, the girl's eyes filled with hatred. Koenma looked at them both nonplussed.

"Yukina?" Koenma asked. "Is something wrong?"

She looked up at Koenma. "Why- why is she here?" she asked.

"Akiya?" Kurama asked her. "Is there a problem?"

She looked up at Kurama and smiled reassuringly. "Oh no! There's no problem. We're just really glad to see each other again, right Yukina?"

Akiya walked up to Yukina and was about to put her arm around her when Yukina suddenly turned around and slapped it away. Everyone was stunned at what Yukina did. The sweet and innocent ice maiden was actually in a foul mood. Yukina faced Akiya and looked her in the eye. Akiya knew the look in her eyes all too well. It showed hatred and sadness. Akiya slightly looked at everyone else that was in the room. They were all looking at them both questioningly, mostly at Akiya though. Tears came to Yukina's eyes.

"Stay away from me!" she shouted. "Don't come near me! I don't want to see you! Just stay away from me, you murderer!"

"Murderer!" everyone said except for Hiei, who was now glaring at her.

"Just stay away from me!" she shouted again before running out of the door. Kuwabara was about to run after Yukina when Akiya looked up and stopped him.

"D-don't go after her…" Akiya said hesitantly.

All eyes were now on her. After a few seconds, she too ran out the door except, Hiei went after her. Akiya was already halfway down the hall in a few seconds when she something suddenly blocked her path. She abruptly stopped after noticing that it was Hiei.

"Going somewhere?" he asked in a mocking tone. His taunting eyes suddenly turned into a hard glare. Akiya noticed the change and stepped back a bit. "What did you do to her?" Hiei asked. "She never gets angry at anyone. Tell me, what did you do? Who did you murder?"

Akiya thought twice before she answered. She already knew that Hiei was Yukina's brother and that was just the problem. Akiya figured that he didn't know who had died in the past few years because he didn't seem like the type to act clueless in these kinds of situations.

"I was on a mission when I accidentally killed one of the animals nearby in the woods," she lied. "She's been holding a grudge ever since."

Hiei's eyes narrowed as he teleported behind her and grabbed one of her arm, twisting it behind her back and bringing her halfway down to her knees. Akiya winced slightly from the pain. There were suddenly shouts coming from a distance away. Koenma, Botan, and the rest of the Spirit Detectives were shouting to Hiei, telling him not to hurt Akiya. Ignoring the shouts, he twisted her arm a bit more.

"You're lying," he said, seeing through her weak excuse easily. "I know her quite well."

"Seeing as you're her brother, it's only natural," she said as Hiei threw her to the ground in irritation.

"If you even think about telling her, I can't guarantee you a quick and painless death," Hiei threatened.

"I have telepathy. Don't even think about touching me," she said, mocking him a bit.

"I'll be able to give you a nice, slow, painful death before you even think about doing it," he threatened again.

Everyone finally caught up to Hiei and Akiya who were glaring at each other. Akiya didn't know why but Hiei's last threat seemed to send shivers down her spine. Hiei growled in irritation and walked outside, going to the Human World. Akiya did the same. She didn't feel like being questioned. She was beginning to wonder if she had made the right decision when she decided to leave. Kurama looked at Koenma.

"I told you not to bring her if she didn't want to come," he said.

Koenma sighed and walked back to his office as the Spirit Detectives and Botan followed.

-In the Human World-

Akiya was on a snow covered mountain, walking aimlessly through the blizzard until she came to a cliff. She noticed another figure standing there a few yards in front of her. Approaching the figure a bit closer, she saw that the person was Yukina. Her body kept twitching up and down so Akiya assumed that she was crying. Hiei, who was standing on a higher cliff nearby, looked at the situation. Akiya stood where she was, observing Yukina a bit, wondering if she should approach her or just turn around and go somewhere else. Yukina turned around at the nagging feeling in her mind to find Akiya standing there, staring at her. Yukina backed up, looking at Akiya with hating eyes.

"Stay away from me!" Yukina cried out. "Don't come any closer!"

"Be careful! You're gonna fall off the edge of that cliff!" Akiya said in concern. Yukina was only inches away from falling off the edge.

Hiei was ready to go in and help Yukina at any moment, whether it was to help Yukina from falling off a cliff, or to save her from Akiya. Akiya stayed where she was, afraid that Yukina would back up further.

"What do you want with me!" Yukina shouted. "Why are you here!"

Yukina backed up further and lost her balance. Hiei immediately became alarmed and was about to grab Yukina when he saw Akiya make a move. Yukina fell off of the cliff as Akiya raced to her and swung her hand. A crimson red ribbon came flying out and wrapped itself around Yukina. Akiya was about a foot away from the edge of the cliff as she yanked the ribbon, thrusting Yukina a couple of feet in the air. Akiya caught her as she fell on her butt. Yukina had her eyes squeezed shut.

"Yukina! Are you okay!" Akiya asked.

Yukina opened her eyes and pushed herself off of Akiya. "Are you trying to kill me too!" she asked angrily.

"What are you talking about!" Akiya said, trying not to shout. "That's the second time I saved you from dieing!"

"You call killing my mother saving me!" Yukina shouted as she cried, the tear gems sinking into the soft snow. She got up and ran off. Akiya stood, staring at Yukina running off.

Hiei, who had heard everything, was nonplussed at what Yukina had said. _She killed our mother!_ Hiei thought angrily. Akiya was about to walk away when she saw something silver in the corner of her eye and sensed an enemy. Using her swiftness, she flipped backwards and found a pair of angry crimson eyes glaring at her.

"That's what she was so angry about!" he said coolly and dangerously. "You killed our mother!"

"Hiei!" Akiya shouted in surprise.

Sword in hand, Hiei was ready to fight as Akiya too, prepared to fight, even though she didn't want to. She knew that she was in for a really tough fight. Hiei was faster and stronger, and had more experience and more spirit energy. She was weaker than him in every way, but she knew that if she didn't fight, she'd be killed instantly. Akiya drew her katana as well. The two faced off. All that was noticeable was a blur when Akiya moved and the little spark of clashing swords. Botan, who Koenma had sent to make sure nothing bad would happen, watched in fear that Hiei would kill Akiya. She summoned her oar and raced to Spirit World.

-At Spirit World-

Botan burst through the door causing Koenma to nearly fall off his chair. The detectives turned to look at the anxious grim reaper.

"Koenma-sama, Hiei and Akiya are fighting!" she shouted desperately.

"What!" Koenma shouted. "Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara! Hurry!"

"Right!" Yusuke said as a portal was summoned. The detectives jumped through with Botan.

They all landed in the cold and heavily snowing mountain. Botan led the way on her oar as the detectives ran after her. After about ten minutes of running in the cold, they finally were able to see the spark of sword clashing against sword. As they were running, they saw Akiya fall to the ground but quickly got back up and continued fighting. Yusuke stopped where he was and fired his Spirit Gun at them both. Seeing the huge blast coming for them, they paused for a moment and teleported out of the way. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Botan raced over to the two people who have now stopped fighting. Hiei only had one small cut across his hand that was barely visible at all, and Akiya had at least fifty cuts all over her body. She was also breathing harder than usual, and Hiei barely looked tired at all. Kurama ran to Akiya in concern.

"Akiya, are you all right!" he asked in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan were yelling at Hiei, who completely ignored them. He was glaring at Akiya, new hatred burning in his eyes. Akiya stared back with a bit of sadness in her eyes.

"You got lucky!" Hiei said in a forced calm, yet angry and dangerous voice. Akiya looked up at him as did everyone else. "When I kill you, I'll make you scream so loud that the even the Spirit World and Makai will be able to hear you!"

A spark of fear showed up in Akiya's eyes that Hiei missed because he ran off. Kurama even shivered a bit at the threat and it wasn't even directed at him.

"Akiya… what did you-" he began but got cut off.

"Sorry but I… don't want to discuss this… right now," she said slowly and quietly, pausing a few times. "I… I just… don't… think that… it's necessary… right at this moment… so…"

"It's alright," Kurama said comfortingly. "Let's go back to Spirit World for now."

Botan created a portal back to Koenma's office as everyone jumped in. When they all landed, they found Hiei and Yukina there, and a serious yet still confused, Koenma.

"Akiya, we need to talk," Koenma said.

She mentally sighed to herself. Koenma stood where he was, confusion very apparent on his face. Other than Hiei, the rest of the detectives and Botan were confused but anxious about the situation.

"Is it true that you really killed Yukina's mother?" Koenma asked her straight forward.

"What!" Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke all exclaimed together.

"Akiya!" Kurama exclaimed as well.

"Of course I didn't!" she objected.

"Liar!" Yukina argued.

"Akiya?" Koenma asked again.

"I swear I didn't kill her!"

"I saw you!" Yukina yelled. "You thrust your sword into her!"

"I want to hear everything now, Akiya," Koenma said quietly. "How did you kill her? Why?"

"I didn't kill her," she responded more calmly. "She chose to die to protect her children and the Koorime race."

A couple of tears escaped Yukina's eyes before she pushed the doors opened and ran out.

"Yukina!" Akiya shouted as she ran out the door after the ice maiden.

Koenma, Botan, and the detectives secretly followed her. Yukina was about to go through a portal to the Human World when Akiya caught her hand and held it firmly, not letting Yukina go.

"Just hear me out, would ya?" she asked.

"What!" Yukina asked in frustration. "Why should I listen to a heartless murderer like you anyway!"

"Because I _didn't _murder your mother," she said calmly. "Listen, that ninja Rejuko wanted you but captured your mother instead and poisoned her but she got away afterwards. What she didn't realize was that the poison in her body linked to everyone else of the Koorime race, and that they would die along with you and your brother if she wasn't killed. Rejuko had the only remedy but he obviously wouldn't give it up. Soon the poison linked to some of the ninjas in my village and Rejuko demanded a trade. He wanted your mother in return for the safety of the Koorime race, some of the ninjas, and you and your brother. I was to take her to the meeting time and place. When we were almost there, your mother couldn't last much longer with the poison in her body. She asked me to tie her up and gag her, and carry her the rest of the way. She died along the way. When I got there... you weren't supposed to be there… but you were, and Rejuko thought that your mother wasn't dead… so he told me to kill her… in front of you… he wanted to break our trust… our friendship…"

"What's your point!" Yukina asked. "I don't care for your excuses, you heartless thing!"

"Yukina, she died before I stuck the stupid sword into her body!" Akiya shouted.

"That doesn't change anything!" she shouted. "Even if my mother didn't die from the poison, you would've had to kill her anyway! The only thing that would've been different was how she died!"

Akiya's grip on Yukina's hand weakened and dropped.

"I'm right, aren't I?" she asked in a hurtful voice. "I don't know my brother, and my mother was my only protection. Why!"

Akiya took off the necklace she was wearing and put it around Yukina's neck. Then she looked down so Yukina couldn't see her face.

"I don't need you to understand or forgive me… but at least know that I'm not lying," Akiya said before walking down the empty and silent hall.

Yukina's fingers softly held the gem up to her face as she stared at it. Being a Koorime herself, she knew where the gem had come from. She looked up to look at Akiya who was quite a distance away by now. Yukina then looked down in sadness. Koenma, Botan, and the Spirit Detectives went up to Yukina.

"It's okay," Kuwabara said, trying to comfort her.

Yukina looked up at him, her mouth trembling. "Oh Kazuma!" she sobbed as she clanged onto Kuwabara crying. He gently put one comforting arm around her as Hiei watched, half disgusted.

Hiei began to walk away.

"Hiei!" Koenma called.

Hiei ignored Koenma as he kept walking and entered a portal. He came out in the Human World and walked into the forest nearby only to find Akiya sitting in a tree a while after a while. She didn't seem to notice him. Hiei didn't know why she looked so peaceful sitting there. Akiya finally looked down and unexpectedly saw Hiei standing there glaring at her.

"Did you really kill her?" Hiei asked, shockingly calm.

"It doesn't really matter what I say," she answered.

"Answer me before I decide to kill you like I promised," he threatened.

"Then you might as well kill me now," she said.

"I want an answer now! Did you kill her or not!"

"What's the point? If I said no, would you believe me anyway?" she asked. Hiei was silent. "That's what I thought…"

"If you are telling the truth, then why would you be blamed for it in the first place?" Hiei countered. "It's only natural that I think you're only lying to benefit yourself."

"All the blame is thrown on me and I have no choice but to catch them all… trying to balance them between hell and reality… I'd rather just drop it all and not catch anymore… but if I did that… I really would be betraying everyone… wouldn't I? And I'd rather drop down dead before I turn my back on those people..."

"Why? Why don't you just kill them all?" Hiei asked, wondering why she would put up with everything.

"Why don't you just kill all of the Koorime? Why don't you want revenge on them for throwing you off into the Makai?" she simply asked. Hiei, once again, remained silent. "Because you don't hate them… no matter how much you're unwanted. You would never kill them because they're important to you. You may not realize it or admit it, but you care for them very much, don't you? I'm right, aren't I? You care for them just like you care for your friends."

They both stood in silence for a bit, letting the calm wind pick up and gently blow through the trees. Akiya looked up and smiled softly.

"Hn… humans… demons… when it comes down to it… we're all the same… we never admit anything… we try to show that we don't care for each other and be rivals and hate each other… but it's those people who always care about you and risk their lives to save you all the time… because to them, you're important… that's why they try to hide it by doing these things…"

"Hn," was all Hiei said as he walked further into the forest. Akiya stared at him leave as she turned to leave the forest. When she came into the city again, she bumped into Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, Botan, and Yukina all walking together.

"Oh Akiya!" Botan said cheerfully. "Would you like to join us? We're going to go meet a friend."

After a while of walking, they all came across a huge arcade on one side, and a bookstore right next to it.

"Whoa! That's one huge arcade!" Yusuke and Kuwabara both said astonished. "Be right back!"

"Hey!" Botan yelled after them.

"Uh… if you don't mind, I'll just be off to the book store while they're in there," Kurama said. "They might be a while. Would you two like to join me?"

"No thanks," Akiya said.

"Um… same here," Yukina replied. Kurama went off to the book store, hoping that it wasn't a problem with leaving Akiya and Yukina alone.

"Please tell me the truth," Yukina said after they were alone. "Did you kill my mother?"

"What's the point of asking me when you won't believe what I say Yukina?" Akiya replied. "It's kinda pointless, don't you think?" After about five minutes have passed, Akiya asked, "Wanna go feed the birds?"

Yukina nodded seeing as there was nothing else to do. She loved animals anyway.

- Two Hours Later-

Botan was finally able to drag Yusuke and Kuwabara out of the arcade just as Kurama came back from the bookstore with Hiei, who he had met on the way back. They all noticed Yukina and Akiya were missing and were worried that something bad might've happened. Hiei was the first one to notice them sitting on a bench in a park nearby feeding birds and talking to each other. It seemed as though they were friends now. A bird flew and perched itself on Akiya's finger as another perched itself on Yukina's finger. With the other finger, Akiya gently petted the bird. Yukina looked over at how gentle she was and how peaceful she looked at the time being.

_Is it really possible that Akiya could be so gentle and kill my mother so cold-heartedly? _Yukina thought.

The two noticed the rest of the group and gently raised their hands up as a signal for the birds to fly away as they walked to join the others and head off to their original destination. Before the rest of the group was within hearing distance, Yukina said quietly to Akiya,

"Sorry Akiya… for blaming you for killing my mother…"

Akiya had a slightly surprised reaction at first, but then turned to Yukina with a small smile.

"It's alright," she said. "I'm just glad… that you and I can finally be friends again."

-Next Chapter's Preview-

Run Away Forever Chapter 6- Reunion at the Training Session

Akiya gets a nice surprise when she and the group get to Genkai's to train. Hiro, Kohira, Keta, Hayate, Katsu, Mika, and Yomi are all there! They all get to train together just like they used to, that is… until something unexpected occurs. Rejuko appears again and this time, he wants Yukina… dead… why does he want her… and how will the ninjas and the detectives protect Yukina and fight off Rejuko when they didn't make a much as a scratch on him the last time they fought?


	6. Reunion at the Training Session

**d**ark-**n**inja-**a**yane- um... just wondering... why does every one of my ? and! marks turn into a !mark instead? same with when i use the double ! mark, it turns into a !mark instead... does anyone know how to fix that?

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 5- An Unpleasant Reunion

Akiya arrives at Koenma's palace only to meet an unexpected person their. It was Yukina. She's held long grudges against Akiya for killing her mother. Hiei, being the secretly protective brother he was, was obviously concerned about the situation. When he found out why Yukina was so angry with the ninja, he attacked her. Their match got interrupted thanks to the rest of the detectives and Botan. They all went back only to have Koenma confront Akiya with the problem. When Akiya denies killing Yukina's mother, Yukina runs out the door with Akiya following her. Akiya tries to tell Yukina that it was all a misunderstanding, but Yukina was still angry. Later on in a forest, Hiei asks for a straight answer from her, whether she killed their mother or not. Akiya asks him why he bothered asking again if he wasn't going to believe her anyway. A few moments after that, she meets Botan, Kuwabara, Kurama, Yukina, and Yusuke passing by. They invited her to go with them to Genkai's though they got sidetracked for a couple of hours because Yusuke and Kuwabara went into a huge arcade. Kurama went to the bookstore to pass time leaving Yukina and Akiya alone. She asked Akiya one more time if she killed her mother or not and Akiya said the same thing that she had said to Hiei. After a while, Yukina finally let go of the strong grudge that she held on Akiya. Now, they're on their way to Genkai's again. (srry… long summary)

**Run Away Forever Chapter 6- Reunion at the Training Session**

They all finally made it to the top of the stairs and were standing in front of Genkai's temple. They all let themselves in and were going behind the temple. They assumed that Genkai already knew that they were there. Akiya was behind the others a bit when all of a sudden, a blast of blue energy flew at her. She did a back flip and swiftly landed on her feet, ready for anything else that may be thrown her way.

"You're sharp, as always," Genkai said smirking slightly. "Come on. They're waiting."

"Who are?" Akiya asked.

"You'll see," she answered as she led everyone to the back of her temple.

"Hey old hag," Yusuke called. "You train her before or something?"

"No dimwit," she said. "I was over at her village once and saw her fight. She comes over once in a while."

Genkai continued to walk and Yusuke decided to keep his mouth shut. After a minute or two, they came to Genkai's backyard. When Akiya looked, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Akiya!" the ninjas shouted to her.

"Guys!" she shouted as she ran over to them. "What're you doing here?"

"We're here to train," Hiro answer. "The children are here too. Hey! Katsu, Mika, Yomi!"

Three children came out of the forest and huge smiles came to their faces when they saw who was standing there waiting for them.

"Akiya-san!" they all shouted as they ran and jumped onto her and embraced her tightly. Akiya hugged them back. She was really happy right now.

"Yukina!" Kohira shouted to her.

Yukina went over and smiled at her. The children went over with the other ninjas. This was their first time meeting Yukina. Akiya smiled at Yukina who smiled back at her. As the children were being introduced to Yukina, Genkai and the detectives were stretching and getting ready to train. After a few minutes, everyone came and joined the detectives.

"So who's fighting who?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well I remember that you were going against one of the children," Hiei mocked. "That leaves the rest of us experienced people to fight."

"Shut up you shrimp!" Kuwabara shouted in his extremely annoying voice. "You should be with them! You're their size anyway!"

"You're the one whose dumb enough though," he mocked again.

"Look who's talking!" he shouted as he tried to think up of a quick come back.

"We'll do it like we were going to last time," Akiya spoke up hoping that it would end the arguing. "Mika and Yomi will go. Kuwabara and Katsu. We'll keep going from there."

"Of course Akiya!" he said holding her hand. "Anything for you!"

"Then let go," she said a bit coldly as she took her hand away from Kuwabara's.

"Let's get started already," Genkai said.

"Yes," Botan said suddenly. She hadn't spoken since she had gotten to Genkai's temple. She went over and stood next to Genkai to watch the fighters train.

Mika and Yomi got in the middle of the large field and got into their fighting stances. Once they felt ready, they went. Mika threw a kunai at Yomi who easily dodged it and performed a small series of hand seals. He performed a simple lightning technique, Yellow Thunder Technique. A strike of lighting came out of his hand as he carefully aimed at Mika. Mika immediately performed her small series of hand seals and performed a simple Rock Wall Shield Technique. Yomi's Yellow Thunder however, broke down Mika's wall and hit her in the stomach. There was a poof and Mika was gone. The Mika he hit was a Shadow Clone. Mika cam from behind Yomi and attacked with her kunai. She chucked it at Yomi and hit him in the back as there was also a poof and he disappeared. Yomi, who was behind Mika, threw a kunai at her and she once again disappeared. Yomi disappeared too however. Right before Yomi's attack had hit Mika, she had turned around and stabbed him with her kunai. Now the field was empty. The detectives were wondering where the two children had gone. Akiya, who was watching the entire fight, was smiling to herself. They had grown a lot since the first time she had trained them. She had trained them well. Yomi and Mika both concealed themselves in the trees and both thought up of strategies. Mika suddenly jumped into the middle of the field. Yomi, after a while, did the same. They both drew their kunai. They were going to end this in one shot. Mika concentrated her sprit energy on her kunai and engulfed it with fire. Yomi did the same except he engulfed his kunai with electricity. They both charged at each other and their kunai clashed which caused a small explosion. They didn't stop though. Mika jumped back and threw her kunai at Yomi as he threw his at Mika. Both kunai hit their marks and caused them both to fall to the ground. They both got up and smirked at each other as they walked over to join the rest of the group.

"Draw again huh?" Yomi asked smiling.

"Guess so," Mika replied.

Kuwabara and Katsu both stepped up to the middle of the field this time. They both got into their fighting stances. Katsu took out his kunai as Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword. Katsu threw his kunai at Kuwabara as he stumbled out of the way. Kuwabara then charged at Katsu with his Spirit Sword. He swung it at Katsu who dodged it with no problems. Kuwabara kept swinging his sword as Katsu dodged every single strike. Kuwabara, who was getting annoyed because he couldn't hit the little boy, controlled his sword so that it swirled around and hit Katsu. Katsu immediately got back up and performed a small series of hand seals and performed a simple Flaming Wind technique. The wind picked up and was heating up. It suddenly became red as it went towards Kuwabara. It hit him but Kuwabara didn't seem to be hurt. He summoned hit Spirit Sword again as he swung and hit Katsu hard. This time, there was a poof though. On instinct, he turned around and batted Katsu who was behind him. Katsu landed and jumped backwards to get some distance so that he could perform a Summoning Technique. He bit his thumb as blood seeped out. He then performed a series of hand seals, put both his hands faced down on the ground, and summoned a huge eagle. It flew by and picked Kuwabara up.

"Oh crap!" Kuwabara shouted nervously.

The eagle was taking him at least a hundred feet into the sky already. It suddenly let go of Kuwabara as he dropped down screaming. Yusuke and Kurama stood up in concern for their friend. Hiei stayed put and watched as the ninjas and Akiya watched Katsu intensely. He didn't look like he was going to make a move to stop Kuwabara from hitting the ground. He just stood there watching Kuwabara fall.

"Sword Get Long!" he shouted at the last minute, cushioning the fall as he landed safely.

Everyone let out a breath of relief. The eagle returned however and held Kuwabara a few feet in the air. Katsu performed a series of very complicated hand seals. The ninjas, the other two children, and Akiya gasped. They recognized the hand seals. Katsu was planning to paralyze Kuwabara's lungs!

"Katsu no!" Akiya shouted to him desperately. _What in the hell is he thinking! Not only will that be dangerous to Kuwabara but if he doesn't do this technique right, he'll wind up with paralyzed lungs himself! And If I go in there right when Katsu's releasing the technique, that might cause it to hit someone else!_

Katsu took no heed of Akiya's desperate shout. The other ninjas were shouting to him for him to stop. When he still didn't stop, they all decided to make a move.

"Summoning Technique!" Akiya shouted after biting her thumb and performing the seals for the technique and placing both her hands on the ground faced down. An unusually large wolf appeared. "Kitamru! Stop Itoru! Make him drop Kuwabara!" she commanded it.

The wolf obediently listened to his master. He jumped onto the eagle and made him drop Kuwabara.

"Hand Mirror Technique!" Hiro shouted after performing a series of hand seals as a mirror popped up in his out of seemingly nowhere as he grabbed it and lined it up with Katsu's attack. As Katsu's attack hit the mirror, Hiro redirected it to the sky. When Akiya looked back at Katsu, Hayate was standing behind him. He hit the back of Katsu's back and knocked him out.

"You taught him a dangerous technique like that?" Hayate asked Akiya.

"Not me!" she argued. "I have no idea where he could've learned that technique! You know me better than that!"

"Do I?" he mocked.

"Hey!" Kuwabara shouted. "Why did you just jump into my battle like that? He was just a kid! I coulda handled whatever he was gonna try and hit me with!"

"If we didn't stop him, he would've paralyzed your lungs and killed you," Hiro said calmly.

"I would've survived," Kuwabara argued stubbornly.

"He doesn't know what lungs are," Hiei insulted. "They're the organs in your body that allow you to breathe. If they're paralyzed, then you can't breathe. Then you die. Now do you understand?"

"I know you stupid little dwarf!" he shouted angrily.

"At least I don't have a block of wood for my brain," Hiei simply said.

"At least _I_ don't need a ladder to reach the door knob!" Kuwabara insulted.

"At least I don't scare everyone away with my face," Hiei retorted.

"I'm not the one that can kill everyone with my hair!" Kuwabara shouted.

While Hiei and Kuwabara were throwing insults at each other, the ninjas gathered and were talking about Katsu.

"How did Katsu learn that technique?" Kohira asked out loud.

"I dunno," Akiya answered. "I didn't teach him… I don't know anyone else that would teach him."

"We're missing the main point," Hiro said. "How did he learn such a complicated and energy consuming technique such as that one? Such a technique… it would've taken every ounce of my spirit energy to perform… and yet…"

"He used it successfully… as if it was nothing…" Keta finished. "We're missing another point. That technique is way too complicated for him. With all the seals and amount of energy required, it should've been impossible… Hayate, you learned it, didn't you?

"It took me nine months to learn how to gather my energy… and at least another six months to learn the seals and how to combine the two together," he answered. "However, I've never successfully performed the technique… ever."

"What about you Akiya?" Kohira asked as everyone turned to her. There was no answer. Everyone looked at her questioningly but she didn't seem to notice. She was staring at the unconscious Katsu who lay on the ground. The two children were beside him.

"Akiya?" Kohira called as she walked up to her to see if she was okay. "Hey, Akiya…"

"Oh! Yeah?" she asked as she was pulled out of her trance.

"Nothing…" Kohira said. "You were just quiet, that's all."

"Oh. Sorry," she said. "I was just thinking, the only person I know who ever pulled off that Paralyzing Lungs Technique… was Rejuko."

Everyone's eyes widened. Akiya was right. The only person who ever succeeded using the technique was Rejuko… and here was Katsu, a little boy who, like all the other children that were ninjas, couldn't even perform one hundredth of the techniques that Akiya, Hayate, Kohira, Keta, and Hiro could. Suddenly, everyone looked up at Kuwabara, who was practically blowing steam from his nose from anger.

"WHY YOU LITTLE! TAKE THAT BACK!" Kuwabara screeched. "MY WIENER IS NOT HALF AN INCH LONG!"

"Then why the big fuss?" Hiei asked amused. Yusuke was laughing his head off and rolling on the ground. Kurama bit his thumb to keep from bursting out laughing as Yukina covered her mouth with her hand and giggling. Botan was laughing while trying to calm herself down while Genkai looked at them with annoyed eyes and muttering "dimwit."

Akiya smiled at them. Then she turned to her friends.

"Should we continue with the training?" she asked.

They all nodded.

"Hey," Akiya said as the detectives calmed down. "Let's get back to training."

"Yes," Hiei commented. "Insulting those who are inferior to me physically and mentally is insulting to _me_."

"HIEI!" Kuwabara screeched.

Hayate stepped in the middle of the field and looked at Hiei.

"Yes," he commented catching Hiei's attention as he turned to look at Hayate. "It's insulting to even watch… but who's inferior to whom in our fight? That's what I wanna know... that is… if you're as strong as you want me to believe."

Hiei glared at Hayate. "You've been trying to act superior ever since we met. Only the weak do that," Hiei mocked. "Who's superior you ask? It's so obvious. I don't have the time to waste on such an incompetent person such as you."

"Only the weak act superior you say?" Hayate asked, a glint of anger in his voice. "Look who's acting superior right now. If you think that you're even close to being on my level, then you're greatly mistaken. You only lack one concept that I have and it makes me that much better than you."

"Which is?" Hiei asked.

"Fight me!" he said. "It's so obvious that you would completely break once you realize it some day. It'll hit you that hard."

"I highly doubt that," he replied.

"Then let's go," Hayate said. "We'll find out who's right."

Hiei stepped in the middle of the field while glaring at Hayate.

"Don't blame me if I accidentally kill you," Hiei said confidently.

Hayate didn't say anything. They both disappeared without warning and drew their katanas. Kohira, Keta, Hiro, Akiya, and Genkai could see exactly what was going on. Kurama and Yusuke could see most of it while Kuwabara, Mika, and Yomi could barely keep up. Yukina and Botan had no idea what was going on.

They were both extremely good with their swords. Both of them matched swing for swing. Hayate jumped back to gain some distance and performed some hand seals. He then put up two fingers and drew them down the blade of his sword. As he did, his sword began to glow red. Soon, there was flame engulfing it.

"Flame of the Mortal's Sword," Hayate said coolly as he got into a fighting stance.

"Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei shouted.

With one hand holding on to his katana, he used his other hand to attack Hayate. A fireball engulfed Hiei's hand as he threw it towards his enemy. Hayate swung with his flaring sword. Hiei immediately withdrew his Fist of the Mortal Flame to parry Hayate's katana. He knocked it outward so that Hayate was left wide opened… or so he thought. Thinking that he couldn't protect himself, Hiei used his Mortal Flame attack to punch Hayate in the stomach. Hayate surprised Hiei when he simply moved out of the way and knock him in the back with the hilt of his sword. Hiei did a flip and landed safely on his feet. As soon as he landed, he charged at Hayate again. Hayate was caught off guard this time by Hiei's quick recovery. He dodged Hiei's sword at the last minute, escaping with a small cut on his shirt. Hayate teleported behind Hiei and sliced him in the back, causing a deep wound. Hiei fell to the ground but struggled back to his feet. Hayate kicked him in the stomach and then hit him beside his neck with his elbow. Hiei didn't let himself fall this time. He attacked Hayate but failed to do anything. Hayate kicked Hiei upward. Hiei, who was knocked in the air, was defenseless. Hayate teleported behind Hiei and kicked him hard which sent Hiei crashing into the ground.

"This fight is already over," Hayate said to Hiei. "You're no longer in any condition to fight me. I told you I was superior."

"What makes you think that this fight is over?" Hiei asked as he struggled to get up.

"Uh… the fact that you can barely stand let alone charge stupidly at me anymore," he stated. "Just look at yourself. You're all talk and no action. Look at the guy who thought he was superior to everyone in every way. Look at him now, on the ground, struggling to get back to his feet again. Arrogant fool."

The Spirit Detectives, Botan, Yukina, and Genkai were impressed. Hiei, the fast, hot-headed, and strong fire demon was beaten. Normally Hiei could live up to his reputation. If he said that someone was weaker than him and that he could beat him, he was always right, but this time, he was dead wrong. The only thing he was able to accomplish from fighting with Hayate was to make a small cut on his shirt.

The ninjas suddenly felt something coming at them from behind. Genkai and Hiei felt it as well. When they turned around, there was a whole army of shuriken headed their way.

"Watch out!" Akiya warned everyone.

Mika got Katsu up and jumped out of the way. Yomi grabbed Yukina and jumped out of the way. Genkai grabbed Botan as Akiya knocked Kuwabara to the side and landed safely. Kurama, Yusuke, and Hayate jumped out of the way as Hiei rolled out of the way, missing the shuriken by only inches. When they all looked again, Rejuko was standing there, smirking.

"We meet again," Rejuko said to Akiya. "However, there is no need to be worried this time. I have come for the Koorime."

Rejuko looked over to Yukina.

"You're much prettier than the rumors have told me," he said. "Why don't you make this easy for us all and come with us?"

"No way!" Kuwabara said as he ran in front of Yukina.

"What do you people always want with me!" Yukina shouted.

"I'll be honest this time my feisty little prey," Rejuko said looking at her mockingly. "I will bring you to my place, and kill you. Actually, it won't really matter where you die. I can just kill you here. You know what? I just might do that. It would make it much easier for me that way. Prepare yourself!"

Rejuko charged at Kuwabara and easily knocked him out of the way leaving Yukina wide opened. Hiei, despite the fact that he was still injured from his fight with Hayate, jumped in the way of Yukina and Rejuko's kunai. He braced himself for the attack but it never hit him. When he looked up, he saw Hayate blocking the attack with his kunai.

"Guess I was a little wrong," he stated with a smirk, "but I'm still superior to you."

Hiei frowned at Hayate. Hayate turned around to see that he hasn't done anything yet.

"Okay, maybe you don't get it," he said a bit irritated. "When I'm standing here defending you and Yukina, that means get yourself and her out of danger and run! Or are ya gonna wait till he kills me?"

"Hn," was all Hiei said before he led Yukina over to the rest of the group.

Hayate dropped all of his strength and let Rejuko overpower him as he swiftly moved out of the way so that he wouldn't be hit by his kunai. Kohira came and performed a series of hand seals before shouting out,

"Water Bomb Technique!"

Water gathered in her hand and took the shape of two spheres. She chucked them at Rejuko but he easily dodged the attacks. Keta used her Windy Breeze Technique again and tried direct Kohira's Water Bomb Technique to hit Rejuko, or at least get closer. While Rejuko was busy dodging the attacks by Kohira and Keta. Hayate and Akiya looked over and each other and performed hand seals.

"Black Flame Technique!" they both yelled.

"Kohira! Keta! Move!" Akiya warned them.

They immediately moved out of the way. Hayate and Akiya spit out black fire from there mouth and hit their target successfully. There was smoke everywhere.

"Yes!" Akiya exclaimed in a whisper. They got him.

"Nope!" Hayate said as he knocked Akiya out of the way. He landed on top of her as a huge black fireball rushed past them.

"What the—!" Akiya exclaimed again.

She looked back over to the smoke. Now that the smoke was thinner, she could see the outline of Rejuko standing there. Once the smoke cleared, Rejuko spoke.

"Your Black Flame Techniques were pitiful. My Black Fire Ball Technique is far superior than both of your attacks that you'd be laughed of the earth when compared to mine. I will give you one more chance to hand over the girl. I will leave with no further arguments if you do."

"I already told ya no!" Kuwabara said.

"Sure," Akiya said interrupting them.

"What!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted.

"Akiya!" Kurama said surprised and nonplussed.

Akiya went over and grabbed Yukina's arm and dragged her over to Rejuko.

"No!" Botan shouted.

"Akiya!" Genkai yelled. "Get your ass back here! What are you thinking!"

"You wanted her dead, right?" she asked ignoring the detectives. "Here, I'll help!"

She slit Yukina's throat with a kunai. Yukina fell limp. The only thing that held her up was Akiya.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" the detectives shouted.

Hiei glared at her with furious eyes. But suddenly, Yukina disappeared with a poof. That's when Hiei noticed that Hiro suddenly appeared beside him. He had hidden Yukina in a safe place.

"Gust of Wind Technique!" came Keta's voice from behind.

"Water Grenade Technique!" Kohira shouted.

"Lightning Strike Technique!" Hiro yelled.

"Fire Ball Technique!" Hayate shouted.

"Blazing Needles Technique!" Akiya yelled.

All of the attacks hit Rejuko full force. When the smoke cleared, she saw that they haven't even put a scratch on him. Rejuko looked at her malevolently. He disappeared without warning and grabbed Akiya behind her neck and squeezed it a bit, causing Akiya to wince in pain. The rest of the group made a move to help her but Rejuko threatened them with her.

"Akiya Ni-chan!" Mika and Yomi shouted.

"Akiya!" the ninjas and detectives shouted.

"No!" screamed Yukina and Botan.

"If you try to follow me or get near, I will kill her," he threatened. "If you don't want me to return her corpse to you, then stay here. I will return her later."

Everyone stayed where they were. Rejuko disappeared with Akiya to the forest.

"Why is it that you always deny me?" Rejuko asked, pretending to be hurt by her.

"Simple," she answered. "Because I think your reasons are crap. _I want to kill everyone simply because I think others are using ninjas._ What a crappy ideal you have. If you think that you can recruit me or anyone one my friends to your side, then you're dead wrong!"

"Katsu didn't seem to think so," he said smiling. "And I think that the other children are beginning to disagree with you."

"That such an obvious lie!" Akiya shouted.

"How do you think Katsu knew my Paralyzing Lungs Technique, huh?" he asked, smiling evilly. "If you don't want to turn Yukina over, then I'll simply ask Katsu to do it for me."

"No! That's not true!" she shouted. "I've taught Katsu and the others well! They _all_ know better!"

"Do they?" he mocked. "Can you believe that he's finally got some sense to join? You can say that it was a miracle that he learned that technique all by himself like that if you want."

"But… if he joined you… that would mean… no… NO!" Akiya denied. "They would never do such a stupid thing…!"

"He has the seal," Rejuko said in a low voice. "I am in complete control of him. I can make him do anything I want him to. He's very loyal. Did you know that? However, he's disobeyed me before. I can make him to roll over and curl up screaming in pain if I wanted to to punish him. Of course, I can also give him a tormenting death if I wanted to. I can do anything to the boy. He's never going to be in be in control of himself again. Right now, he's like an empty body. From that day, he became nothing more than a hollow shell for me!"

"SHUT UP!" Akiya screamed in her shaky voice, holding back her tears. "Just shut up…! Katsu… what did you do to him! It's all your fault that he's like this! Tell me what the hell you did!"

"Technically, it's not my fault," he replied coolly. "He's doing this for you, ya know? So pretty much, it's your fault that he's like this. It's all because you won't let him get close and protect you. When you left that day, I paid him a little visit. He joined on his own free will though I'd still have to say that this all happened because of you. It's all your fault for not letting him protect you! You can't blame the boy for wanting to protect the most important person in his life, can you? Don't deny it, and don't try to make this someone else's fault. You know what you did and you have to take full responsibility for it! You can run from a lot of things, I'll give you that much… but you can't run away from this!"

"I'll bring him back! Just watch!" Akiya yelled.

"You can't," he said. "That's the whole point. Like I told you before, he's nothing more than a hollow shell."

"You must've done something! What did you tell him!"

"I told you that you can't escape this! You can't run away from it like you do from every other aspect of your life! Don't try to throw the blame on me! I did nothing to the boy! You did this to him! He doesn't have a will, he doesn't have a soul… he has nothing anymore, not even his dream… and it's all thanks to you! You destroyed him… from the inside out! And you think that we're that different from each other!"

Akiya looked down as tears escaped her eyes. She was destroying everyone's lives.

"Oh my," Rejuko said watching her amused. "Are you actually crying? Since you barely escaped with you life after your little experience with Yoko and his friend and created a human body for yourself till this very day, I've never seen you cry for any reason. How long has it been now? Since you came to the Human World? Fourteen years? That would make you fourteen right now in human years, wouldn't it? You're too old for tears."

Akiya was still crying. She hadn't let a single tear escape her eyes for all her life... the fourteen years in the Makai, and the fourteen years in the Human World… not a single tear ever fell from her eyes. Whatever pain she was in, she never showed it. She never let it out. She would hold it all in. Rejuko was amused and enjoying every minute of this. He watched Akiya tremble and cry silently.

"You're so pathetic. You're no ninja," Rejuko said. "All your life, you've devoted your life to the code of the ninjas. What happened? Look at yourself. Have you forgotten, ninjas never show their emotion in any situation. They must never shed tears! What are you doing now! You're violating the code of the ninjas! Do you realize how pathetic you are? That's why everyone hates you! You're weak. Ninjas must stick to the codes, but you're breaking them left and right. A code that you're so fond of breaking is the one where they say that they must accomplish their mission no matter what. Tell me, how many times have you abandoned your missions to save your friends who could already take care themselves?"

"You're wrong…" Akiya said. "No ninja sticks to the code completely. Everyone breaks a code or two."

"But don't forget, a ninja's mission is their life. Either they die accomplishing a mission, or they accomplish it and leave their acquaintances behind. The codes of the ninjas say that they must accomplish a mission no matter what, even if they have to leave their _friends_ to die."

"You're right. That's exactly what the code says. Those who don't stick to the code are trash… like me… but those who leave their friends behind and abandon them to complete a mission… they're even worse than trash. I've learned that the hard way. Besides… no mission is more important than your friends…"

"If that is what you want to believe," he said. "You can talk to Hayate and the others about that if you want to. They have some feelings, even if it's very slight, that I am right! One day, you will abandon your ideal and realize that the shinobi code is the one and only way to live!"

"Never!" Akiya said sternly.

_**-Flashback-**_

"_Hey! Sakana-san!" a boy with dark green hair and dark purple eyes called. _

_Akiya turned around._

"_Karano-kun," she said. "Hey!"_

"_Akiya-san!" another boy with blue hair and sharp yellow eyes called._

"_Hirame-kun!" she called back._

"_Hey, Sakana-san! Congrats on becoming our team leader!" Karano said happily._

"_Yeah. Whatever he said," Hirame said in a disappointing tone. "I doubt you can do a good job though."_

"_Shut up," she commanded._

_Their teacher came into view and the three ninjas turned to face their teacher and respectfully bow. _

"_Akiya," said her teacher who had brown hair and black eyes. "Congratulations. I'm sorry that we can't celebrate all that much though. You see, there is a mission for you and your team."_

"_It's not a problem Akiro-sensei," Akiya said. "What's the mission?"_

"_Our enemy is planning an attack on us and our village, and we need you three to ambush them from the back of the entrance. The other jounins and I will ambush them from the front. We need you to go and attack them first, to divert their attention and block there way back."_

"_Yes sir," the three said obediently._

"_Be careful," Akiro warned his students. "This is a very dangerous mission. I will come aid you if there are any problems. Understand?" _

"_Yes, but, if they get left behind, I won't go back for them. Make sure that they all understand that," Akiya said._

"_Why don't you just come with us Akiro-sensei?" Hirame asked. "With Akiya-san as our leader, she's sure to lead us into problems left and right. Not to mention she just said that she'd leave us all behind." _

"_Hey!" Akiya said. "Have some respect for your leader!"_

"_Can you two stop fighting long enough to work on this mission?" Akiro asked. _

"_But I can't work with her!" Hirame argued. "She thinks that she's so much better than us all. She won't even care if we're in danger! I don't want a leader like that? I should've been leader! My father was a great hero!"_

"_Shut up about your father already!" Akiya said angrily. "He was able to survive what should've been a fatal attack once and you think he's all that!" _

"_Shut up you stupid girl!" Hirame shouted. "At least my father was something! Tell me what **your** father did! What did he ever accomplish in his life time! Huh? Nothing!"_

"_Hey! Stop it! Both of you!" Akiro commanded. "Hirame, come over here real quick. Karano and Akiya, you both go wait by that tree."_

_They all followed his orders as Akiya and Karano went over to wait by the tree and as Hirame went over to his teacher._

"_Cut her some slack, would you?" Akiro asked. _

"_Why!" Hirame asked angrily. "My father was a hero! She's just jealous because my father a great hero and that her father was nothing!"_

"_Actually," Akiro said, "her father was a great hero too. His name was Sakana Mirota."_

"_But then… how come she's never talked about her father?" Hirame asked. Another question popped up. "If you say that her father was a hero, then how come I've never heard of what kind of great things he'd accomplish?"_

"_He was sent on a mission to our enemy to make sure that their plan to ambush the village failed. He was doing a great job until his friends were in danger. He went back to help them… and was killed protecting them... but his friends got away safely. It caused everyone to fail their mission to protect the village however. People started to speak badly of him and disgraced him. That's why Akiya is so seriously bound to the codes of the shinobi. They all thought that he was a disgrace. Her father was killed protecting people and was a disgrace. Till today, he's known as 'The man who made the village fall,'" Akiro answered. "Because of the way she grew up… you know… with no parents… it's more difficult for her to see things the way you do." _

_It was silent._

"_Well I'm rambling and you guys need top get going," Akiro said. "I have go do some stuff as well. You guys better go now. And Hirame… try to cut her some slack."_

_Hirame nodded and went over to join the other two that were waiting and they were off. They traveled silently until there was suddenly a scream from behind. They turned around to find that Karano was captured in a trap and was unable to break free. The trap dropped and Karano was gone. He was now a hostage of the enemy._

"_Karano!" Hirame yelled. "Hold on! We're coming!" _

"_No we're not!" Akiya said sternly, gripping Hirame's arm._

"_What are you talking about!" he asked angrily. "He's our friend!"_

"_That doesn't matter! According to the code of the ninjas, you are to accomplish your mission! It doesn't matter if you have to leave a friend behind!"_

"_Bullshit! Fuck the stupid shinobi code! He's our friend! I'm going back for him! I don't give a damn what you do! If you want to keep going, then you can go alone cause I'm not gonna be under the command of a leader who thinks that a mission is more important than her friend, so see ya!"_

"_Fine," she said coolly. "Go ahead and go. If that is your decision, then go ahead. I will not abandon a mission to save one person!"_

"_You think you're a hero by doing this! You're no hero! You know who I thought was a hero! Sakana Mirota! He was a true hero! He went back to save his friends even though he knew that he'd be disgraced! Your father was a great person and a wonderful hero that I look up too! And I'm so ashamed… that his daughter is nothing like him!"_

_Hirame ran off to go back for Karano and left Akiya alone…_

_-With Hirame-_

_He caught up with the enemy and stayed concealed in the trees. There was no harm done to Karano yet. _

"_We need to know what's going on in that village of theirs," one guy said._

"_Yes," the other replied. "This Illusionary Technique should be perfect."_

_The guy started performing a series of hand seals but before he could finish, Hirame came out and threw some shuriken at the enemy._

"_Karano!" he yelled to him._

"_Hirame! Watch out!" Karano yelled. _

_The enemy had thrown a kunai at the young boy while his guard was down. Suddenly, another kunai was thrown by someone who was hidden, and it hit the kunai out of the way right before it hit Hirame's face. _

"_Sorry I'm late," Akiya said as she got out of her hiding place. "No one's hurt, right? Good."_

"_Akiya-san!" they both said happily. _

"_You came," Hirame said._

"_Yup! Now let's get Karano out of those ropes and beat these guys up!"_

"_Right!" the two said as Hirame got Karano out of the ropes that tied him and got ready to fight._

"_Powerful Fire Ball Technique!" Akiya shouted after she performed her series of hand seals._

_She put one of her hands to her lips and shot large fire balls from her mouth. Most of them hit their marks as Hirame performed a Flaming Arrow Technique. A fiery bow appeared in his hand as he created a bunch of arrows and shot them all. Most of them hit their marks as well. Karano attacked using a Blizzard of Blades. Ice as sharp as a blade of a katana appeared as they flew towards the enemies. They hit, but the opponents didn't seem to be all that injured as they got up and both performed a Rock Slide Avalanche Technique. Karano and Hirame were safe because they weren't next to Akiya, but huge rocks began tumbling down the cliff right beside her. Akiya stood there, knowing that there was no way that she could get out of the way on time. _

"_Akiya- san!" Hirame screamed as he ran and knocked Akiya away from the falling boulders and was crushed in her place._

"_Hi-Hirame!" Karano screamed. _

"_Hirame-kun!" Akiya shouted as she ran and crouched next to him. He was still alive, but there was nothing wither of them could do to save him. Half of his body was completely crushed. _

"_Akiya-san… thanks for coming back with me…" he said coughing out blood. 'Since I won't be at your celebration for becoming team leader… I need to give you my gift now… Karano… please… there is a ball of sprit energy inside of me… you're a medical ninja… please take it and give it to Akiya-san. Akiya-san… this way… you can use every technique that I know and have learned with this energy ball… please… promise me to use that."_

"_Hirame-kun…" Akiya said. "All right, I accept your gift. Karano- kun, please remove his energy ball and insert it into me."_

"_Kay," Karano said as he quickly did as he was asked and transferred the ball into Akiya. _

"_Hirame-kun… hold on for me a bit longer…" Akiya said softly. "I want you to see me use your gift!"_

_Akiya performed a series of hand seals and shouted out,_

"_Flaming Shower!" _

_Akiya's eyes grew red and large hot air balloon sized fire balls came crashing down on the enemy and everywhere else. The two enemies were killed in an instant. _

"_You were right… you should've been the leader," Akiya said. "Now that I know the techniques you know… I can tell that you were superior from the start…"_

"_Damn… right," Hirame joked._

"_Akiya-san… I'm sorry… I can't save him in this condition… every bone on the left side of his body has been crushed… and I imagine that his vital organs must be crushed as well… as good as I may be in the medical area… I can't save him…"_

"_That's alright Karano…" Hirame said. "At least I died for you guys… knowing that you guys are safe… I can rest in peace… thanks for everything… both of you…"_

"_You're a true hero Hirame-kun..."Akiya said._

"_Karano… thanks… for always being there… to help out…" Hirame said, beginning to fade away. "And Akiya… I know we always fought… but I always liked you… wish I told you that earlier… please tell… Akiro-sensei… thanks..."_

_Hirame began to lose consciousness._

"_Hey Hirame-kun… I just figured out what I wanted to give you as payment of you saving my life…" Akiya said._

"_Yeah?" he asked in a whispering voice now. "What's that?"_

_Akiya looked him in the eye and slowly bent down. Her face was hovering above his. She bent over and kissed him on the lips. She could feel his soul rush right into her body and an unusual happiness surrounded her. Akiya thought that Hirame must've been feeling the way she was… except happier. Karano held onto Hirame's hand and tapped Akiya on the shoulder when he felt Hirame's hand loosen and was soon deprived of all strength and life. Akiya stopped and looked at Hirame's face and took her hand and closed his eyes. She looked down in sadness. Shortly afterwards, Akiro came. _

"_I heard that you guys ran into some trouble!" Akiro said. "Is everyone—"_

_Akiro stopped when he saw the looks on Akiya and Karano's face. He then looked over at the pile of huge boulders and immediately knew what was horribly wrong. Hirame was dead. _

"_I'm sorry…" he said walking over to his other two students. "I didn't come in time… if only I were earlier… I could've prevented this…"_

"_No… if only I came with him when he said so… none of this would've happened…"Akiya said._

"_It was my fault… if I was more careful and didn't get caught… you guys wouldn't have had to come back… and none of this would've even happened… I'm so sorry…"_

_Akiya turned to her teacher. "Akiro-sensei, I'm sorry," she said. "I came back and violated the code of the ninjas."_

"_And I'm glad you did," he said. "I'm sure Hirame was proud of you too. It's true that a ninja who doesn't follow the code is trash… but those who leave their friends behind to accomplish their mission and put their friends as their second priority… those people are worse then trash… I'm glad you came back… besides… everyone is trash… everyone's violated the code before… like me. I'm here with you guys when I should be doing my mission."_

"_That's just what… Hirame-kun said…" Akiya replied quietly._

"_Then remember his words… and remember mine… don't always let the code guide you and your actions… let our words guide you from now on... let them be your new principles. Your friends are always the first priority on your list… no mission is more important than your friends."_

_**-End Flashback-**_

"Akiya!" everyone shouted to her. She had been back for about five minutes yet she just sat there with her eyes opened. Akiya snapped back into the world again. She saw that Katsu was alright again and was beside her. She turned to him while still sitting down and pulled him in, embracing him tightly.

"Oh Katsu…" she said softly. _You shouldn't have gone to him for help…_

Next Chapter's Preview-

Run Away Forever Chapter 7- Further Than Ever

Akiya was already distant from everyone, even her ninja friends. Now, she's further than ever… not only from the ninjas… but also from the detectives and the others. What can anyone do to get close to her again when she's completely locked everyone out of her world… and entirely locked herself in?


	7. Further Than Ever

dna- just so that everyone knows, this is a hieixoc fanfic. i know that i havent given any signs of that yet but its too early in this story right now. i need some more things to happen first. there will be romance between akiya and hiei in later chapters.

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 6- Reunion at the Training Session

Akiya and the detectives, along with Yukina and Botan, went over to Genkai's temple to train in her backyard. Akiya and the ninjas were reunited again along with the children. They all trained together. Mika and Yomi went, both battling impressively though it was a draw. When Katsu and Kuwabara went up against each other, Katsu performed a complicated and dangerous attack that no one ever expected he could. The ninjas had to stop Katsu or else he would've paralyzed Kuwabara's lungs with the Paralyzing Lungs Technique. Hayate knocked him out as Kuwabara and Hiei were throwing each other insults, and as the ninjas except the children, gathered to discuss the attack that Katsu used. Akiya pointed out that it was an attack that only Rejuko had ever performed successfully. No one thought much of it as the training resumed. Hiei and Hayate were up as Hiei faced a shocking defeat. Rejuko suddenly appeared and demanded Yukina dead. Everyone tried to fight him off failing miserably again. He took Akiya into the woods to talk. He told her that Katsu had the seal and joined him on his free will, becoming his puppet. He also told her how all of the other ninjas, including the other two children, were beginning to have thoughts that his ideals were better. Akiya continued to deny it as she a memory from her past life came rushing back to her. Rejuko returned her as she sat there in her own world, unaware that her friends were calling out to her. When she came back, she embraced Katsu tightly…

**Run Away Forever Chapter 7- Further Than Ever**

Akiya sat there, embracing Katsu who seemed surprised. The others looked at her questioningly as well. Everyone and everything was completely silent. No one moved or said a word. The only thing that they were able to hear was the soft wind and the rustling of the trees as the wind blew through them. The ninjas were completely shocked that Akiya was crying. They have never seen her cry before. Keta finally moved. She reached out her hand and took one step forward.

"Akiya…?" she asked very quietly. "What's wrong? What happened?"

She finally let go of Katsu who looked at her, still confused.

"Nothing…" she answered quietly as she began to walk away.

Kohira spoke up softly. "It's not nothing… there _is_ something… please tell us."

"Really…" she said, still very quietly. "It's nothing…"

Akiya continued to slowly walk away but Hiro gently held her by her upper arm.

"Don't keep secrets from us anymore," he said gently. "Trust us… like we trust you…"

"I'm not the one keeping things from people this time," she said quietly in her trembling and weak voice.

"What the hell are you saying?" Hayate asked in a surprisingly calm voice. "We're keeping secrets from you?"

"Maybe…" she answered barely above a whisper.

Akiya gently slid her arm out of Hiro's soft grip and walked away, leaving everyone to stare at her back. Yusuke was about to go after her when Genkai's firm grip on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around to look at the old woman to see her shaking her head. Botan looked worried as did Yukina, Kurama and Kuwabara. The children looked miserable and sad.

The sky was growing darker and darker as the sun began to set. Time seemed to have frozen as they silently wondered what could've happened between Rejuko and Akiya. Large, puffy, gray clouds began to gather. The lightning soon lighted up everything as thunder struck the sky. Rain began to fall and eventually pour from the sky and onto the motionless group of people below. No one made a move, especially the ninjas. After about a few minutes, Kuwabara quietly spoke.

"Shouldn't we uh… you know… go inside?"

"No…" Kohira replied quieter than Kuwabara. "We're going to search for her… you guys can go in if you want… c'mon…"

"No…" Hiro said. "We should go inside. Sometimes, the best way to support and comfort someone is to not be there. She'll come back when she feels better. Knowing her, all she needs is some time to herself to think things over. She'll tell us what's wrong when she wants to and when she's ready. For now… we should leave her alone… let's go inside."

Everyone mutely walked inside Genkai's temple to hide from the rain.

Akiya

Akiya sat on a high tree branch leaning against the tree trunk, letting her arms and legs hang limply, and letting the rain pour down on her. She was looking straight ahead, lost in her thoughts, motionless. Time seemed to have come to a complete stop as she sat there thinking for what seemed like an eternity to her.

**_Flashback 1_**

"_He has the seal," Rejuko said in a low voice. "I am in complete control of him."_

_**Flashback 2**_

"_It's all your fault for not letting him protect you! You can't blame the boy for wanting to protect the most important person in his life, can you?"_

_**Flashback 3**_

"_You did this to him! He doesn't have a will, he doesn't have a soul… he has nothing anymore, not even his dream… and it's all thanks to you! You destroyed him… from the inside out! And you think that we're that different from each other!"_

_**Flashback 4**_

"_You can talk to Hayate and the others about that if you want to. They have some feelings, even if it's very slight, that I am right!"_

_**Flashback 5**_

"_Then remember his words… and remember mine… don't always let the code guide you and your actions… let our words guide you from now on... let them be your new principles. Your friends are always the first priority on your list… no mission is more important than your friends."_

**_End Flashbacks_**

"Damn it all…" she said to herself in her still trembling voice. "I just have a thing for screwing up peoples' lives…" _Katsu… what have I done? Why did you have to go to **him** for help? Why?_ "Damn!" she said angry at herself as she let her head hang down. After a couple of seconds…

"Yes… you do have a habit of screwing up everyone's lives," came Hayate's voice.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Same thing I could ask you," he replied. "Besides, I still need an answer from you."

Akiya looked at Hayate oddly. He wasn't joking before she left the village?

_**Flashback 1**_

"_I…love…" he said trying to confess. "I love you a lot…"_

_**Flashback 2**_

"_I'd like an answer the next time we see each other."_

_**End Flashbacks**_

"Don't tell me you forgot," he said pretending to be disappointed.

"Why are you so different lately?" she asked him, her voice showing frustration. "You're always so serious… and quiet. Since when did you start playing around and being nice and saying all of these weird things!"

Hayate looked at her stunned. Did she think that he was up to no good? He looked down sighed.

"Never mind then," he said. This time, Akiya could hear the genuine disappointment in his voice. "Like you said… you just have a thing for screwing up peoples' lives. Must do it for a living or something."

"If I'm such a nuisance to everyone, then why do you keep coming after me!" she asked, showing that she was even more frustrated than before.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice to you! If you've gotta problem with that, then just say so!" Hayate said irritated. "It's not like I enjoy acting nice and cheerful and funny all the time you know!"

"Fine!" she shouted. "I have a problem with it!"

"You have a problem with everything! Destroying people's lives isn't your only specialty, is it!" he shouted without really thinking. "You always start ridiculous problems that you can't end!"

"Then I'll end it now!" she shouted as tears managed to fall from her eyes again.

Akiya took out her kunai and held the blade up to her own throat. Hayate looked at her, highly alarmed.

"This is the perfect solution that everyone's been waiting for, right! This oughta end every single problem! I won't be destroying everyone's lives anymore! I won't be starting problems I can't end! I won't be able to do anything to anyone! Everyone will be happy again… I'll be able to escape from everything!"

At Genkai's Temple

"Hey," Keta said looking around a bit. "Does anyone know where Hayate's gone to?"

"Come to think of it, no," Hiro said as he looked around as well. "He has been gone for a while now. I don't think that he needs _that_ much time in the bathroom."

"Maybe he's—!" Kohira stopped mid sentence as everyone else realized what she was going to say. "… with Akiya…!"

"That'll make things a lot better," Hiro sarcastically said. "C'mon. We'd better find them before they get into a huge argument. Katsu, Mika, Yomi, let's go."

The children nodded as they followed the ninjas out of the temple. The detectives watched them beginning to leave.

"Please," Kurama said with sympathy. "Let us help."

Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded on agreement. Genkai looked at them as did Hiei. There were a couple of minutes of silence.

"Sure," Kohira answered.

Everyone gathered into groups outside except for Yukina and Botan who were told to stay.

"We should split up," Hiro said, then turned to the detectives. "She doesn't exactly know you yet so I hope you don't mind if at least one of us goes with each one of you."

"Not at all," Kurama answered. Yomi, Mika, Katsu

They all got into groups. Hiro, Mika, Genkai, and Yusuke were one group, Kuwabara, Kohira, and Yomi were another, Keta, Katsu, Kurama, and Hiei formed another group. With their groups formed, they left to look for Akiya and Hayate.

In the Forest

Akiya pulled her kunai away and thrust it towards her throat. Hayate teleported right in front of her slapped his arm on her wrist and gripped it tightly. He pulled it away to the side and looked at her furiously.

"What about regretting a decision you made while you were still alive!" he shouted. "Ever think about how you would escape that!"

"I won't feel anything once I'm dead!" she yelled. "I'll be nothingness! You won't need to worry because I won't feel anything!"

"What about us!" he asked. "What about how we'd feel! You never think past step two in anything you plan, do you!"

"No… you're wrong... I never think of anything past step one because when I do, I leave myself wide open for everything else that can go wrong!"

"You know what?" he asked in a forced calm yet stern voice. "You can't run away from every single aspect of your life! If you think that you can escape everything by dieing, then you are so far from the reality! You won't escape the regret that you'd always feel pulling you down towards hell like a magnet! You won't be able to escape the fact that you filled your friends' lives with misery and sorrow that will never stop haunting them, forcing them to grieve over your death each and every day even if they don't want to! If that's what you really want, then go ahead and kill yourself! I was so foolish to ever think of you as a friend! You're nothing like your father! You make him seem so disgustingly pathetic! I'm so ashamed that a hero's daughter is so pathetic and—!"

SMACK! Akiya slapped Hayate across the face making him shut up. Hayate turned his face to look at her stunned. Akiya's hands were clenched tightly, her eyes filled with fury. Her eyes glared at the male ninja icily.

"I_ am_ pathetic! You can insult me all you want! But when you talk about my father in the disrespecting way you just did… that's when I won't just sit around and listen!"

"You never cared about what other people said about your father before!" Hayate pointed out, still recovering from his shock.

"That's because they were all different! They've never learned how to fight to protect themselves so they don't know anything! Those people had no pride and honor!" she countered. "They have no idea what it takes to go back and risk his life and honor protecting his friends even though he knew what other people were going to say about him for years to come! Those people… they think it's so easy to make a decision and leave their friends there to die to accomplish their mission! They know the code… but they don't know anything else! They don't know courage or pride or honor… or even loyalty! They're just villagers who sit back and relax and watch people like us fight and protect them! Those kinds of people aren't ninjas! You're different! You're a ninja! You know the code! You know everything else! You've experienced what it's like to be caught between your missions and your friends! Don't insult my father like that because that'll only make you seem pathetic!"

Akiya jumped off of the tree and ran away just as Keta, Katsu, Kurama, and Hiei arrived. Keta saw Hayate and sent a telepathic message to everyone, telling them where to go.

"Hayate," Keta called quietly once they got under the tree.

A few second later, everyone else arrived.

"Hayate," Hiro called.

Hiro saw the look in Hayate's eyes when he looked down and assumed that they had already argued.

"Where'd she go?" he asked.

"Why the hell should I care?" he asked as he jumped down from the tree.

Hayate began to walk away but Hiro gripped his wrist tightly and looked at him with intense eyes.

"Where?" he asked again.

"I should know because?" Hayate asked.

Hiro sighed as he let go. Hayate wasn't going to talk. He was way too stubborn and he didn't even care.

"I can sense her energy. She's nearby," Genkai said. "Let's go."

Everyone looked at her as she began to walk. Soon, they followed her silently. Hiro turned around when Hayate wasn't following them.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"No," he answered flatly.

"Go on ahead," Hiro said to the others. Once they were all out of sight, he turned to Hayate and looked at him in the eye, trying to search for answers. "What happened?" he finally asked. "What did you two fight about?"

Hayate kept silent.

"Hayate," Hiro said quietly. "Look, I've been your best friend for what… ten, eleven years now? Even so, I've never been able to figure you out… you care about her, that's obvious to me. What I don't get is why you pretend to hate her. She's the world to you… why do you act like you don't care?"

"That's something the likes of you will _never_ understand even if I spend all of eternity trying to explain," Hayate said harshly as he watched Hiro's face show shock at the comment. "You're nothing like me and her. We're both alone… no matter what."

Hiro recovered from his slight shock. "I see…" he said quietly with sympathy. "You're right… I'll never be able to understand why you two would feel alone even when we're always here for you… worrying about you both every minute of our lives… hoping that one day… we'd be able to see a genuine smile on your faces… showing true happiness… both of you…"

"Then quite hoping," Hayate replied a bit coldly.

"You know what my dream is?" Hiro asked his best friend. "My dream is to get you both to realize that you were never alone… to make you two have hopes and dreams again… to get rid of the huge gap between your world and ours…"

"Then quite dreaming," he replied like before.

"That's the problem... if I do… I'll be just like you two…"

Akiya

She was standing on the edge of a cliff, only inches away from edge.

_I can't get close to **anyone**, can I? Every time I do, I only cause them problems… I'm just an infected parasite that hurts everyone and everything. But being alone like this… I want to care for people… and I want them to care for me. My dream was to have the life that every other person was blessed with… but… _

_**Flashback**_

"_My dream is to have the life that everyone else is blessed with some day," Akiya said to an old man who invited her to rest after her solo mission._

"_That's a good dream," he replied._

"_Hey, you don't have a leg," Akiya said. "My friend is really good in the medical area. We can get you another leg."_

"_No," he said. "There are more useful things than having a leg. Besides, I may have lost something, but I've gained something even more. Tranquil and quiet… nothing you could ever get on the battle field."_

"_But the dream of every soldier is to return home with all their limbs and body parts! What's the point of having peace and quiet when you have to limp around for the rest of your life? The whole point of a dream is to achieve it!" Akiya said._

"_Once you achieve it, then what?" he asked. Akiya was silent. "See, that's what makes a dream a dream. You're not meant to obtain it," he replied._

"_Look mister… I'm a ninja. Where I grew up, your dream was the most important thing you could hold on to. It's the only thing other than the code that guides your life."_

"_Yet another reason that proves my point," he said looking at her. "The thrill of having a dream is that it's a fantasy. It you achieve it, then it was never a dream to begin with. Holding onto something you were never suppose to obtain, that makes it even more valuable. It gives you something to live for. That's the purpose of having a dream."_

_**End Flashback**_

"Akiya," someone called.

She turned around to face Genkai and everyone else.

"C'mon," Genkai said. "Let's go back to my temple and talk."

"No," she answered. "Just… just leave me alone…"

"Please Akiya," Kurama said gently. "We only want to help."

"Then go away," Akiya said flatly. "I wanna be alone. Don't follow me."

Akiya walked right past them and into the forest again.

"There's only one problem with your request," Keta said. "You _are _alone. Remember? You said that yourself."

Akiya stopped. "Yeah," she replied, her voice trembling again. "That's why I don't need you guys here. Just go away and leave me alone… I don't ever want to have anything to do with you guys again… _ever…_"

"How did we not leave you alone when you've never let us get close?" Kohira asked.

"Akiya Ni-chan," Mika said in her trembling voice and with tears in her eyes. Yomi and Katsu looked at Akiya.

"What!" she shouted.

The three kids were taken back.

"Hey, c'mon," Kuwabara said. "They're just kids. Take it easy. There's no need to shout. They're just worried about you, like we are."

"Yeah," Yusuke said agreed. "We're your friends now. We're always here when you need a shoulder to lean on you know…"

"You know what you guys are?" she asked the four detectives. "You're strangers! I don't know anything but your names! You call yourselves my friends!"

"Akiya!" Keta said sternly. "How could you say that! When you left, they were more than your friends! They were more than us!"

"It's amazing how one person can cause so much problem," came Hayate's voice from behind.

"Hayate," came Hiro's voice.

Akiya turned around. She gave Hayate a glare and began to walk away. Hiro sighed heavily.

"Akiya," he said. "Please… I'm begging you… tell us what's wrong this time…"

"You guys!" She answered coldly.

Everyone was strongly taken back. The kids looked like they were about to break. The ninjas were looked extremely hurt and the Spirit Detectives except for Hiei looked stunned. Everyone stared at her without making a noise. Akiya herself was completely silent and motionless. She was just annoyed.

"Y-you don't mean that…" Mika denied, trying as hard as she could to restrain the tears.

"I meant every word of it!" she replied with the same cold tone. "You all wanted to know what was wrong! Well now you know!"

"Now it's our fault huh?" Hayate asked, matching her tone. "Why can't you seem to figure out the fact that you can't just throw the blame on anyone you want! You're such a despicable little piece of trash! If anything bad ever happens to us, remember that it's your fault!"

Akiya's eyes widened at his comment. It showed such similarity to what Rejuko had said to her.

_**Flashback 1**_

"_Don't deny it, and don't try to make this someone else's fault. You know what you did and you have to take full responsibility for it!"_

_**Flashback 2**_

"_I told you that you can't escape this! You can't run away from it like you do from every other aspect of your life! Don't try to throw the blame on me!"_

_**End Flashbacks**_

Next Chapter's Preview

Run Away Forever Chapter 8- Her World

Nothing anyone says is getting to Akiya. Everyone is beginning to lose hope as Akiya gets further and further away and as the lock gets stronger. Akiya is trapped, locking herself in her own world and beliefs. When nothing breaks through, Hiei secretly takes action… but will he regret doing that? He always thought that Akiya was a girl that was just simply unwanted and who _thinks_ she had a rough life, but there's always more than what people think they already know...


	8. Her World

**lazigurl and anyone else who reads this- **plz feel free to use any of my fanfic characters of you want to. im not a person who makes a big deal out of it so if you want to, you dont have to ask or anything. well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 7- Further Than Ever

Everyone tries to question what happened when Akiya was with Rejuko, but she refuses to say anything. She runs off into the woods to be alone but everyone follows her, as usual. Hayate was the first to get to her and tries to help her and comfort her in his own way, but that only made things worse. Akiya gets frustrated because he seems a lot less serious than he usually is and is saying things that he would never say. Hayate gets smacked in the face when he says something he shouldn't have as Akiya ran off again. When the rest of the groups catch up with her, they wind up getting into another argument. Akiya says some things that she normally would never have said to her friends as she begins to walk off on them again.

**Run Away Forever Chapter 8- Her World**

Everyone stared as Akiya started to leave once again.

"Akiya," Genkai called. She stopped without turning around. Genkai walked up to her. "What's wrong with you?" Genkai asked. "You're so different. What happened to the other Akiya that was kind _and _strong?"

"She's gone…" Akiya said, "… and she's not coming back."

She continued to walk.

"Where are you going to go?" Genkai asked in an irritated tone. She had had about enough of her attitude. "Back to your village, or to the Spirit World? If you're going to except neither, than you have nowhere to go."

"I have my own places," she said coldly. "Anywhere is better than being bothered by a bunch of brainless objects such as you all."

Everyone was once again taken back by her comment.

"You…" Keta said getting her attention a bit. "You're not Akiya… what have you done with her? The Akiya that we're all so fond of would never say that… _ever_! What are you! What have you done to her!"

"It's not what I've done, but it's what you've done," she answered coldly. "All of you…"

"God damnit! If we've done something, then tell us!" Hayate shouted, getting angry. "What are you so angry about! What did we do!"

"Good question!" she answered. "Go find out so you can leave me alone!"

Akiya walked away. This time, no one tried to stop her. She went back into the woods. Genkai sighed, tired of the situation.

"Let's go," she said. Everyone except Hiei followed.

"Hiei," Kurama called.

"I'm not going," he answered.

"Then what are you going to do?" Kurama asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "I just don't feel like being around all of these pathetic baka ningen."

Kurama sighed and left his friend there. Once he was alone, he secretly followed Akiya into the forest.

At Genkai's Temple

Yukina and Botan were saddened by the fact that the situation only got worse. After a long period of silence, Botan spoke.

"Um… I know that this isn't really the appropriate time but… we have to leave right away…" she informed. "You see, Koenma-sama has another mission for you guys and it's urgent…"

"Aw, c'mon," Kuwabara complained. "Can't this mission wait? I mean, Akiya needs us."

"Tch, no she doesn't," Yusuke said trying to sound normal. "You heard her. We're not her friends. Besides, knowing Koenma, he's gonna have a fit if we don't go now."

Kurama turned to the ninjas and looked at them sympathetically. "We're terribly sorry, but we must leave. When Hiei comes back, could you tell him to meet us at Spirit World? We'll come back as soon as we finish our mission."

Keta looked up at Kurama coldly which surprised him. "Losing a friend is far more than enough right now! We don't need to lose our pride as well! Don't look at us with sympathy!" she said sternly and coldly.

"Keta…" Kohira called quietly and surprised.

Keta turned around and walked out of the temple. Kohira looked down sadly.

"What the hell!" Hayate said frustrated more than angry. "All this problem just for one little girl!"

He too walked off. Hiro watched him leave. His attention was back on Kohira again as she got up and silently walked out of the temple. He sighed heavily before looking back at the detectives.

"Please don't worry about anything," he said trying to smile. "Just complete your mission and come back safely. I'm sure that, by then, Akiya will have cleared her head a bit. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you all."

"Thank you," Kurama said before he, along with the rest of the detectives, jumped into the portal back to Spirit World.

In the Forest

Akiya was sitting on the ground and leaning against the tree while Hiei was on the very top of a large evergreen tree, watching Akiya. Hiei went into her mind, wondering what was going on in her head.

_Maybe I can help her… not that it matters…_ Hiei thought to himself.

_**In Akiya's Mind**_

"_Katsu didn't seem to think so," Rejuko said smiling. "And I think that the other children are beginning to disagree with you."_

"_But… if he joined you… that would mean… no… NO!" Akiya denied. "They would never do such a stupid thing…!"_

"_Technically, it's not my fault," Rejuko replied coolly. "He's doing this for you, ya know? So pretty much, it's your fault that he's like this. It's all because you won't let him get close and protect you. When you left that day, I paid him a little visit. He joined on his own free will though I'd still have to say that this all happened because of you. It's all your fault for not letting him protect you! You can't blame the boy for wanting to protect the most important person in his life, can you? Don't deny it, and don't try to make this someone else's fault. You know what you did and you have to take full responsibility for it! You can run from a lot of things, I'll give you that much… but you can't run away from this!"_

"_I told you that you can't escape this! You can't run away from it like you do from every other aspect of your life! Don't try to throw the blame on me! I did nothing to the boy! You did this to him! He doesn't have a will, he doesn't have a soul… he has nothing anymore, not even his dream… and it's all thanks to you! You destroyed him… from the inside out! And you think that we're that different from each other!"_

"_What the hell are you saying?" Hayate asked in a surprisingly calm voice. "We're keeping secrets from you?"_

"_You have a problem with everything! Destroying people's lives isn't your only specialty, is it!" Hayate shouted without really thinking. "You always start ridiculous problems that you can't end!"_

"_How did we not leave you alone when you've never let us get close?" Kohira asked._

"_Akiya!" Keta said sternly. "How could you say that! When you left, they were more than your friends! They were more than us!"_

_**Outside**_

_So that's what happened… the kid joined the enemy and it's her fault. She acts like it's such a big deal. It's nothing compared to me. Her life is nowhere near mine if you compare how tough it is. _

Hiei went back into her mind to read her current thoughts. There were many running at once though he tried to listen carefully to each one.

_I… I can't let them turn to the enemy for aid because of me… if I keep them away, they won't need to worry and do things that they would regret… but Katsu… he has the seal… and it's all my fault. What can I do to help him? The only possible way to remove the seal only guarantees a twenty-five percent chance of survival… I can't perform such a dangerous technique with such high risks like that… _

_Hayate… he's all alone now. If only I was more careful, his brother wouldn't have died to save me… I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have been out there and getting in the way. I know that they told me to help, but if I had declined, Hoyuta-san would be alive… _

_Hirame-san is dead… I shouldn't have been so selfish and gone back with him right away. _

_I wish I was never born. I'm like some kind of devil… I can only bring sorrow and pain to everyone around… I'm the type of person that **has **to be alone no matter what… besides… thanks to me, everyone close to me is dead. I don't need Hayate and the others… and the detectives to die because of me too. I need to stay as distant as possible. If I don't… then they'll probably end up like everyone else. They're already halfway there… _

_I'm hated… I'm despised… everywhere I go, people avoid me… they stare at me… they talk and spread horrible rumors about me… but…why? _

_The massacre that occurred to the village… it was all my fault. I didn't complete the mission like I was supposed to… but if I did, then their village would've been nothing but ash… would that have been right? I can never do anything right. I should've done my mission, that way, a lot more people at the village would've been saved. _

_The people I care about so much… why is it that I always seem to hurt them more than my enemies? It's like I'm breaking them apart little by little, weakening them bit by bit… I shouldn't be around them… I should forget about them… they don't know what they're getting themselves into… _

_Everyone turns their backs on me like I'm some kind of disease and I'm left all alone… it nothing new… maybe that's why I don't care anymore if everyone leaves me alone… _

Hiei stopped. All of the thoughts were too loud and overlapping so much that he had to strain his mind to hear the things he did. Even with all of the stuff that he heard, Hiei still thought that they were nothing. He just thought that she made a big deal out of small things. He went back into her mind yet again. This time, he looked into her memories and throughout different parts of her mind.

_**In Akiya's Mind**_

"_I'm so sorry Akiya-chan… but I'm afraid that well… your father…" a man said hesitantly to the three-year-old Akiya. _

"_I wanna see him," she said in a trembling voice. _

_She ran outside of the village gate and ran through the crowd of people. _

"_Wait!" the man yelled as he ran after her._

"_Father!" Akiya cried as she ran over by his lifeless and blood covered body. She let herself drop by his side. "There's no way…"_

_Akiya was tied up against a tree and her mouth was gagged. There was a group of ninjas from an enemy village that held a kunai up to her mother's throat. Akiya struggled and tried to scream for help but it was no good. One of the men took out another kunai and stabbed her mother in the back as anther ninja did the same and stabbed her from the front. Her mother fell down dead. Akiya's eyes widened in anger and shock. She tried to scream out._

"_If you keep quiet about this, we won't bother you're brother, but if a single word of this slips from your mouth, we'll kill him like your mother," one of them threatened. "Don't be a loud mouth spy like your mother. That's why she died. Now be a good girl and keep your mouth shut!"_

"_Hey Karano-kun," Akiya said. "We're in the enemy territory, so look out for tr —!"_

_Akiro knocked her out of the way. As he did, Akiya heard an explosion. When she got up, she looked for Karano, but the only thing she could see was blood splattered everywhere. Her teacher came and stood next to her looking stunned._

"_Why?" Akiya asked. "Why me? Why didn't you help him? Why did you leave him there and save me instead! Why!" _

_Her teacher kept silent and calm._

_She returned to her clan to find that it had been completely slaughtered. Everything was covered in crimson blood and the streets were covered with bodies and body parts that had belonged to the people who once cared and looked out for her. _

_Akiya came to meet her teacher who had called her. She wasn't too concerned about the matter until she saw the normally calm and soft eyes filled with more depression than ever. Her teacher looked at her sadly and she automatically knew what was wrong. Akiro went up to her and embraced her tightly and comfortingly._

"_I'm sorry…" he said. "I should've been looking out for him… it was all my fault that your brother… I'm so sorry…"_

_There were literally about seventy-five ninjas against Akiya and Akiro. They had been sent on a mission and it wasn't turning out so well. They were completely exhausted from other fights that they had fought along the way and they were running out of spirit energy. _

"_Get inside the portal," her teacher commanded. "Hurry before it closes up!"_

"_But it only has enough energy for one person to pass through!" Akiya said. _

"_I can take care of myself! Now go!"_

"_No! You're the only person I have left! I won't let you stay Akiro-sensei!"_

"_Get out of here! That's your mission! Get in the portal!" Akiro said knowing how much a mission being directed from her teacher meant to her. "Go!"_

_Akiya nodded and left through the portal. As it closed, she saw her teacher's lifeless body fall to the ground._

_There were people mocking her, laughing at her. They would tease her and push her around and gang up on her. One day, she couldn't take it anymore and her energy burst out of her body, killing all of the children and some of the villagers…_

"_She killed at least a fourth of the village!" one of the villagers said. _

"_We have to keep our children away from her!" another said._

"_Why don't they just throw her out and lock her up somewhere?" asked a villager who joined the conversation. "Why not just kill her? That'll solve all of our problems."_

_Everyone quieted down as Akiya looked up at the unexpected silence. The head of the village was coming. He glared at her._

"_You killed another large group of innocent villagers and children, didn't you!" he asked angrily. _

"_I'm sorry," Akiya replied in a weak voice. "I couldn't control my powers and it just…"_

"_Get out of our village!" he ordered. _

"_It was an accident! I swear!" she said looking up at him with pleading eyes._

_The head ninja knocked her away and sent her flying out of the village gates with his spirit energy. _

"_Don't ever come back here again!" he commanded. _

"_You look hurt," said a young boy with long white hair and red eyes. "Wanna come to my place and rest?"_

_Akiya looked up at him weakly and nodded. The young boy picked her up and gave her a piggy back ride to his small cottage looking house. _

"_By the way, my name's Higiru Manomi," he said. "What's yours?"_

"_Sakana Akiya," she replied weakly. _

"_Oh, you're that girl that everyone's so afraid of," Manomi said. He looked down and saw the look of sadness in her eyes. "Don't worry," he said smiling warmly. "I'm not gonna kill you or anything like that. You look like a good person. I'm sure that you didn't do it on purpose, right?"_

_He carried Akiya to his home and laid her on his bed. After about a day, she was fully recovered and was fine again. Manomi took Akiya to meet his older brother and sister and some of his friends._

"_This is my older brother and sister, Higuru Yuka and Hato," Manomi introduced. "These are three of my closest friends, Yumena Irane, Eraki Hataru, and Nikuta Saya."_

"_My name is Sakana Akiya," she said bowing to them. "Nice to meet you all."_

"_Oh, you're that girl," Irane said smiling._

"_You're pretty strong then, right?" Hataru asked playfully. _

"_Hey Akiya-san," Saya called. "You can be our friend under one condition… you've gotta except us and respect us for who we are, that's all. Okay?"_

_Akiya looked at her oddly. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" she asked. _

"_Well if you were gonna give us a hesitant answer, then we wouldn't have let you be our friend," Yuka answered. "You see, the six of us are different from a lot of ninjas . We aren't exactly ninjas. We're part demon as well and most people don't except that even though they do respect us, it's only because of our strength."_

"_You guys are part demon?" Akiya asked calmly, surprising them all. "I would've never guessed, but that's cool."_

_They stared at her. Everyone who had said that they would except them and respect them tried to stay away from them after learning that they were part demon. When ninjas are part demon, there demon side eventually takes over and blocks all of their emotions while they do on a wild killing spree._

_Everyone knew that and that's why they all ran away yet Akiya didn't care._

_Two Months Later_

_The seven of them had become really good friends. One morning, Akiya woke up and went downstairs as usual. However, this time, the room had an ominous and eerie feeling in it. She walked outside of the house to find everyone glaring at her. Akiya looked at them, confusion apparent on her face. Irane, Hataru, and Saya held Akiya down while the three siblings approached her._

"_H-hey!" she cried alarmed. "What are you doing!"_

_Yuka, Hato, and Manomi attacked her but Akiya had somehow managed to break free from the other three and dodge their attacks._

"_Sakana Akiya," Manomi said in a low and creepy voice. "We're going to kill you!"_

"_W-what?" she asked still confused. _

"_Did you really think that we were ever your friends?" Saya asked coldly. "We were hired by the head of the village that kicked you out to kill you. We've been observing you. We know exactly how to beat you!"_

"_You won't die quickly," Hato said malevolently. "We can guarantee you that much!"_

_All six of them attacked her. Akiya didn't want to fight them. She had grown fond of them. They were like her own family, a new one that she had trusted with everything she had, and now…_

_Seven Hours Later_

_Manomi, Yuka, Hato, Saya, Irane, and Hataru's bodies were barely noticeable anymore. The whole area was covered with blood and the mashed up bodies of her friends. Akiya stood with her fists clenched tightly and hard eyes. She was going to forget the whole thing. She was gonna lock it up like she did with every other thing._

_Akiya went to see Karano's father. He was a very talented medical ninja._

"_Sakeru-san," Akiya said. "I have a favor to ask of you."_

"_Akiya-chan, please, have a seat," he said warmly. "What would you like me to do for you?"_

"_I need you to lock up my power," she said._

"_What!" Sakeru yelled in shock. "Akiya, you know the consequences for doing something like that! You have a lot of energy, and the only way I can lock it up is to use your life energy. Because you have so much power, if we use your life energy to lock it up, it would shorten your life tremendously. Absolutely out of the question! I won't do it!"_

"_I know," Akiya replied, "but… all of this power… I don't want it…"_

"_All of this power is a gift Akiya-chan," he assured. "It's a blessing."_

"_And that's why my friends have died? Because they were blessed by being killed with my power? I don't want this kind of power…" Akiya said sadly. "This kind of power… I hate it! I don't want a power that'll destroy everything and everyone I value in life… I want it all to go away… so I can never have access to it again… please. I don't care if I die… but I can't let others witness this power. Once it's gone, it'll only be a fairy tale… nothing more than just a myth…and that way, everyone will stop coming after me…"_

_Sakeru sighed heavily before he started gathering her life energy…_

_**Outside**_

Hiei secretly stared at her. The images that he saw wouldn't go away.

"They're pretty hard to get out of your head once you see them, aren't they?" someone asked from behind.

Hiei swiftly turned around startled to find Hayate standing behind him. "Why are you here?" he asked coldly.

"Quiet down," Hayate said, "unless you want her to find out that you've been stalking her and digging around in her head all this time." Hiei glared at him.

Hayate hinted for Hiei to follow by shaking his head to the side once, then leaving. Hiei soon followed. He was led into a different part of the forest. Hayate stopped and turned around to look at Hiei.

"Why did you want me to follow you?" Hiei asked.

Hayate didn't reply. Hiei waited patiently but Hayate kept silent. Hiei growled in irritation.

"You didn't think she had a rough life like that, did you?" Hayate asked.

"Hn, what's so rough about it?" he asked.

"She's seen far too much death and experienced far too much fighting and killing for a girl of her age," Hayate continued, ignoring Hiei's comment. "Not to mention the sadness and isolation… and pain…"

"It's not like she's been the nicest person around," Hiei emotionlessly said.

"You're wrong!" Hayate said glaring at him, bothered by Hiei's rude comments towards Akiya. Hayate dropped his glare. "She's really the nicest person you could ever know. She has the kindest heart… but there's so much darkness that's covering the light in her heart that use to shine so brightly… Akiya…like I said. She's experienced so many things that a child her age should never experience in their _life_…"

"What's your point?" Hiei asked uninterestedly as he turned his back to Hayate.

"You've seen some of her memories," he said. "Not one of them was a happy one…" He paused, then spoke in a sympathetic tone that was unexpected. "Don't cause her anymore pain… I trust you with her… take good care of Akiya, and try to help her. Be there for her…"

"What are you trying to say?" Hiei asked surprised as he turned around.

It wasn't Hayate that he saw though. It was… Akiya. Hiei was a bit shocked. Akiya turned around and was about to run but not before Hiei reached out and grabbed her arm. Akiya tried to pull her hand out of Hiei's strong grip but Hiei tugged on her arm to stop her. That caused Akiya to lose her balance. She fell on top of Hiei who had a surprised look on his face. He was a bit embarrassed. Akiya blushed very lightly.

"L-let go of me!" she commanded.

"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked. "_You _get off of _me_!"

"Then stop putting your arm around me!" she shouted.

Hiei looked down and noticed that his arm was wrapped around her. He looked disgusted and lifted his arm off of her. Akiya got up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes.

"What were you doing here anyway?" Akiya asked curiously.

"Same thing I could ask you," he said.

"I wanted to be alone," Akiya replied grumpily. "What were you doing? Stalking me?"

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" he asked bitterly.

"Never mind," she said. "Who were you talking to anyway?"

"Huh?" Hiei asked.

"When I got here, you were asking somebody something," she reminded. "Who was it that you were talking to?"

"You must've been hearing things because I was alone," Hiei said calmly.

"You're lying," she accused.

"Or maybe you've just gone crazy," Hiei responded cynically.

"Whatever… ow…" she said rubbing her arm where Hiei had grabbed. "You grip almost as hard as Hayate-san…"

Hiei stared at her as she was rubbing her arm and looking at the slightly pinkish mark there. He didn't know why, but when he was around her, he felt weird. He felt soothing and peaceful, and also uncomfortable in a way. For the most part though, he was calm and normal.

"Hey, by any chance, were you with Hayate-san?" Akiya asked after thinking for a while.

"Him? No. Why do you think that?" Hiei asked curiously, being pulled out of his thoughts.

"I dunno," she answered. "It's just that, I feel his presence, like he was here not long ago."

"You make it sound like you're so close to him, like you like him," Hiei said sarcastically.

"Yeah," she said softly, surprising Hiei. "I do like him… I know that he doesn't always do the best job in the world to help me, but he tries. He understands me, or more than anyone else anyway… he's always been there for me when no one else was. His ways of showing that he cares about me aren't always the best, but they're good enough for me…"

Hiei looked at her a bit confused. Why was she opening up to him and not to her other friends?

"You know what's weird?" she asked.

Hiei kept silent.

"You remind me of Hayate-san…" she said surprising Hiei once again. "Your presence… when you're near me, you remind me of him. And I can't seem to keep my mouth shut when I'm around you… the things that I would normally never say to anyone else, it just all spills out one at a time if I'm not careful. I feel like I can trust you with everything… and I feel safe and warm… and happy… and I feel like I can forget everything…"

Hiei seemed happy to hear that, but then…

"I don't like it…" she whispered softly and sadly, confusing Hiei greatly. "I hate it…"

The two of them stood there in silence. Hiei was wondering what she meant when she said that she _didn't like it_. After a while, Akiya broke the silence.

"Hey," she said turning around to face him as Hiei looked up. "Let's forget that we ever met each other here. This whole conversation, it never happened. This moment never existed, kay?" she asked smiling slightly.

Before Hiei could respond, all the ninjas including Hayate showed up.

"Hey!" Hiro shouted in a bit of a worried tone, more to Hiei than to Akiya. "Botan, she just came here covered in blood! She said that you need to go to Spirit World now!"

"Where is she?" Hiei asked calmly.

"Here…" came a weak and trembling voice. "Hiei… Akiya… hurry… or Yusuke and the others…"

"Botan!" Akiya yelled, worried about her. "Keta-san, please!"

"Don't worry," she assured. "She'll be fine. I'll take care of her and make sure nothing happens. Just go and help your friends."

Botan weakly summoned a portal to Spirit World. Akiya and Hiei quickly went in and landed in Koenma's office.

"Hiei! Akiya!" Koenma shouted, sounding a bit relieved. "Thank god! Hurry! Yusuke and the others are in trouble!"

"Then stop crying like the baby you are and get us a portal there!" Hiei said coldly.

Koenma immediately summoned a portal for the two of them. They both jumped in. They landed outside an abandoned city and saw Yusuke struggle to his feet as well as Kurama and Kuwabara. Akiya and Hiei rushed to help them as the three detectives were knocked away by their enemy's spirit energy. Akiya looked at who they were fighting. Her eyes widened at the shock. Koenma had sent them to fight Tokujo, one of Rejuko's helpers…

Next Chapter's Preview

Run Away Forever Chapter 9- Hiei and Akiya's Mission

Koenma has made a huge mistake by sending Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara to go fight Tokujo, and Akiya and Hiei aren't going to be much help in beating him. When they miraculously escape with their lives, they find that some demon is killing off humans for fun. Since Yusuke and the other two are in no condition to fight anytime too soon, Koenma sends Hiei and Akiya to take care of this small matter, but this wimpy looking demon may be much stronger than the three of them think… especially when it's taken Yukina hostage…


	9. Hiei and Akiya's Mission

**dna-** i just turned 13 on april 1! yay! but i think i liked being 12 better. its a more... childish age, you know... anyways, on with this chapter!

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 8- Her World

Hiei follows Akiya into the forest and secretly reads her thoughts, finding out that the Katsu had joined Rejuko, and many other things that Akiya thinks. Then he looks into her past and finds out about her background. After that, Hayate leads Hiei to another part of the forest and talks with him about Akiya. He tells Hiei that he trusts Akiya with him. When Hiei turned around, he came face to face with Akiya. He pulls her too hard by accident and causes her to fall on top of him. She talked to him and seemed pretty much back to normal. Hiei tells her that the way she talks about Hayate makes it sound like she's in love with him. She reveals to Hiei that she likes Hayate and how she feels around him. Akiya tells Hiei that he reminded her of Hayate and that she didn't like it. After a bit, all of the ninjas come with Botan who informed the two that they needed to help Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei immediately. When Akiya and Hiei arrived at fight scene, they find the other three struggling to their feet, and Akiya identifies the man they're fighting as Tokujo, one of Rejuko's helpers.

**Run Away Forever Chapter 9- Hiei and Akiya's Mission**

Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara struggled back to their feet as Tokujo shot another powerful blast of energy towards the three injured detectives.

"Shadow Replication Technique!" Akiya shouted as she put up the single seal needed for the technique.

Three clones of her appeared and immediately knocked Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke away. Tokujo looked at the person who interfered with his fight and smirked when he saw who one of them was. Akiya glared at him.

"Well, well, well," Tokujo said. "If it isn't Akiya, my favorite little punching bag. I let you go the last few times but I haven't had another punching bag that lasted more than five minutes, except for these three maybe, but you're more fun."

"Don't be so proud," Akiya replied bitterly as she arrived in front of him. "The last time we met was what, ten, eleven years ago? I was a little kid back then. I've gotten stronger."

"Yes, you have," he agreed, "but so have I, more than you. I've always been stronger than you."

Akiya didn't reply. She knew that he was right. Even now, he was a lot stronger than she was. Hiei looked over at Akiya and could tell from the looks in her eyes that they had no chance of winning. Their only option was to escape.

_That other damn ninja that we already fought was already powerful, probably more powerful than this guy, so how powerful is he_? He thought.

Tokujo sent another blast of his energy towards everyone. Akiya performed another Shadow Replication Technique right away that took the attack for Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara. Hiei and Akiya dodged it, but barely. They both landed in front of their three teammates. Akiya reached behind her and took out a talisman. She held it between two fingers and began chanting. Tokujo advanced towards the group. Hiei drew his katana, ready to parry Tokujo's attack. Tokujo took out a kunai and lightly tossed it towards them. Akiya quickly placed the talisman on the ground.

"Barrier, activate!" she shouted.

A barrier formed around the five of them as the kunai that Tokujo lightly tossed hit the barrier hard.

What the hell? Hiei wondered. He barely put any strength into that.

Even after it hit the barrier, it didn't drop. It pierced through Akiya's shield little by little. Akiya took out another talisman.

"Barrier Reinstallation, activate!" she shouted as the barrier was a brighter color than it was before.

The kunai pierced the barrier a bit more before it dropped to the ground. Tokujo laughed at their struggle. He held up another kunai but threw it a bit harder this time. Akiya knew the barrier wouldn't hold up. She ran outside the protective shield and performed a series of hand seals.

"Rock Fall Technique!" she yelled.

Rocks began to pour down onto the kunai and knocked it off the barrier. Tokujo walked up to Akiya and threw a light punch at her. Akiya ducked down and jumped away from the barrier. Hiei immediately teleported beside her so that Tokujo's attention would be on them and not the other three. Tokujo attacked the both of them. Hiei swung his katana at him but it just bounced off of him.

"Sorry," Tokujo said smirking. "Swords don't work against my Titanium Armor Technique."

He grabbed Hiei's sword and threw it along with Hiei to the side. Then he turned to Akiya, but she wasn't there. He looked around for her but couldn't find her anywhere. When Tokujo got tired of looking for her, he looked up at the sky, but instead of seeing that, he saw Akiya coming straight down at him. She threw some kunai at him that just bounced off like Hiei's sword. Tokujo smirked and sent a blast of energy her way. It hit her back in the air and after a few seconds, there was a poof and she disappeared. Out of instinct, he looked behind him and saw a handful of shuriken thrown at him. He stayed put and let it hit him as it bounced off again.

_Damn his armor!_ Akiya cursed. _And how the hell are we gonna get out of here? Those three have lost a lot of blood. If they don't get treatment soon, they're gonna die!_ _Damn… I wish Keta-san had come along… or even better, if Karano-kun was here, he'd be able to heal us all in less than a minute…_

Akiya was suddenly knocked away by someone, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Hiei on top of her.

"Quite day dreaming and pay attention!" Hiei scolded.

"I wasn't day dreaming!" Akiya defended.

She held onto Hiei and rolled over, dodging three shuriken that were thrown at them.

"See?" she scoffed.

They both got up and was knocked away by yet, another blast of energy from Tokujo. Hiei was able to dodge it in time. Akiya quickly turned her body to the side to shield the rest of her body from the full force of the blast. Instead of only knocking her away like she thought it was suppose to, it cut about an inch or so into her upper arm. Akiya got back up.

_His energy, it's sharp!_ She thought. _It's like a flying sword with a dull edge. If that's the case, then we may be in more trouble than we think…_

"You've done pretty well up until now," Tokujo complimented. "I think it's time I stepped it up a notch."

Hiei appeared beside Akiya again. "Let's attack him. He isn't strong enough to last much longer."

"No," Akiya said quietly. "He's merely toying with us. He's barely used _any_ of his strength against us yet. We can't win, not with the strength we currently have. He may be a lot weaker than Rejuko, but he's a lot stronger than all of us."

Tokujo sent multiple blasts of energy towards them. They were able to dodge some, but most of them hit.

"Alright, I'm getting bored," Tokujo said. "I have no more use for any of you. Now, you get to die."

Akiya and Hiei tried to get up but found that they couldn't.

_C-can't move!_ Akiya thought as she looked towards Tokujo. That's when she noticed talismans around her and Hiei. _What? Paralysis talismans? But… how? When?_

Tokujo advanced towards his two paralyzed foes. Hiei struggled to move as did Akiya even though she knew it was useless. He created a spear out of his energy and held it above Hiei. Tokujo was about to stab Hiei when a blue energy blast flew right above Hiei and Akiya, breaking the spear that Tokujo had created. He looked over at the person who attacked and saw Yusuke. He was out of breath and nearly out of energy. Kuwabara and Kurama were standing beside him. Kurama had his Rose Whip in his hand and Kuwabara had his Spirit Sword in his. Akiya and Hiei were able to move again. Yusuke's Spirit Gun had blown the talismans off. The two teleported in front of their three weak teammates. Tokujo sent a large and powerful blast of energy this time. He was getting tired of all the inference. Hiei started to power up, getting ready to use his Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Akiya slapped her hand on his wrist and pulled his hand down.

"Save your Black Dragon attacks for later," she said. "It takes too long."

She swiftly did a series of hand seals, concentrating an immense amount of energy on this technique.

"Razor Wind!" she yelled out.

The wind picked up a bit as Tokujo's blast neared them. Then, right before his attack hit, the wind blasted towards his blast and slowly pushed it away.

"Get in!" a familiar voice yelled to them.

Everyone turned around and saw Botan on her oar. She had summoned a portal back to Koenma's palace. They were all off guard and Tokujo took this chance to attack. His sharp energy hit everyone hard on the back. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara coughed out blood and fell limply to the ground. Hiei and Akiya struggled back on their feet. Botan covered her mouth with her hands, hoping that everyone was okay. Akiya performed another Shadow Replication Technique. Three clones popped up and picked up the three detectives that were lying on the ground. Then all of them joined Akiya and Hiei as they jumped into the portal followed by Botan.

They all landed in one of Koenma's rooms. Koenma immediately got up and rushed to the six of them. The three clones gently laid Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara on the beds nearby. They were still bleeding.

"Is everyone okay?" Koenma asked stupidly.

"What do you think?" Hiei asked coldly. "Take a look at those three. Do you think they're okay?"

Koenma kept his mouth shut. Akiya threw Koenma a quick glare before she walked over to her three friends. She turned around and looked at Botan.

"I see you're okay now," she said.

Botan nodded.

"Hey, could you get me a portal to Genkai's?" Akiya asked. "I need to see Keta-san."

"I could, but they've already left Genkai's," Botan replied sadly. "They said that they were called on an urgent mission"

"Then, where's Yukina?' she asked.

"I think she went back to one of the snowy mountains nearby," Botan replied sadly again.

Akiya sighed.

_I guess I have no choice… otherwise, they're not gonna make it… all three of them…_ Akiya thought. _I'm not as good as Keta-san, but… I'll try._

She held out her hands as a large blue light began to glow brightly. It moved over the three detectives and they started to outline them. After nearly five minutes, Akiya put her hand down. A few of the cuts and bruises on their bodies were gone.

"Alright, I've stopped their bleeding mostly and healed some of the major wounds they had," she informed everyone. "It's all I can do for them. I'm not exactly the medical ninja master so… anyway, whether they survive or not, it's going to be up to them."

Suddenly the door burst open.

"Oh my gosh, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama!" Keiko cried as she ran over to them.

"Kazuma! Yusuke!" Shizuru yelled in concern for her little brother and his best friend.

"What happened?" Keiko asked to no one in particular.

"They… were on a mission…" Botan answered.

"Hiei. Akiya," Koenma called. "I need to talk to you both."

The three of them left, leaving the rest of the girls to talk. Hiei and an angry Akiya followed Koenma down the hall a couple minutes to his office.

"I have another mission that needs to get done," he began.

"If it has _anything_ to do with Rejuko, then I'm out!" Akiya snapped.

"Relax, it has nothing to do with that at all," Koenma said calmly. "In fact, it has to do with a demon. His name is Bachi. He's been killing innocent children to recover from his injuries that he got when he was in the Makai. Obviously, Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara are in no condition to fight, so I need you two to go on this mission together. I know this may seem harsh to you Akiya, but it's the way we do things here. Kill Bachi. He's weak right now, but he's an upper C, maybe lower B class demon. Bachi will be a threat if he fully recovers, and we don't need any trouble, especially while Rejuko is running wild and on the loose."

"You don't have to worry about me killing enemies," Akiya responded. "I've been doing it for so long it feels like a daily routine."

"Of course," Koenma said. "I should've known. So I need you both to go down there and take care of Bachi. Can you two handle it?"

"All we have to do is kill a pathetic demon that's only strong enough to attack ningen children. It's too easy," Hiei said confidently.

"Well, actually…" Koenma began. The two of them turned their attention to Koenma to hear what he had to say. He looked at the too of them and seemed uncomfortable. "Never mind…" he finally said.

"What?" Akiya asked, feeling that he had something important to tell them.

"Nothing…" he said again. "Well, here's your portal. Be careful!"

They both nodded and went through the portal even though Akiya was still curious about what Koenma wanted to tell them. The two of them were dropped at an old garage in an abandoned part of a city. Akiya looked around but saw nothing as did Hiei. They went in to inspect the garage. There were mostly just boxes, and maybe just a few tables but that was it. Upstairs, there was the control room for some of the machinery. They went back downstairs. On the way out, Akiya happened to notice a drop of red liquid right beside a box.

"Hey," she called to Hiei as she walked over to the box.

Akiya opened the box to find at least five to six young children in there, dead. Hiei saw what was inside but didn't really care about the children. The only thing that was on his mind was that Bachi was here somewhere and had yet to come out of hiding.

"There must be at least three hundred boxes in here," she said. "Are they all filled with bodies of children?"

"So what if they are?" Hiei asked her. "It's not like that matters. They're only mere human children."

Hiei suddenly drew his katana, alarming Akiya as she drew her katana as well. The boxes started to open, and the children inside were coming out. At least a few hundred children, no more than seven years old, surrounded the two. All of them had some kind of sharp object in their hand. The army of seven year olds began closing in on Hiei and Akiya. Soon, they started attacking the two. Hiei slayed everyone who was attacking him while Akiya was merely blocking their attacks.

"Don't _pity_ them! _Kill_ them! _They're_ trying to kill _us_!" Hiei shouted while killing five children.

"But-!" Akiya was cut off.

"You want to be a sparing partner for hundreds of seven-year-olds?" Hiei asked as he slayed three more children.

"Good point…" Akiya mumbled to herself.

She sliced every single child that attacked her and that was in her reach while Hiei did the same. After a while, they both moved in opposite direction. Hiei went left while Akiya went right. The children were easy to eliminate. All of the children were killed in no more than fifteen minutes. Akiya suddenly took out a shuriken and threw it behind her. The demon that they were looking for came into view.

"Who are you?" asked a deep muscular sounding voice.

"I assume that you're Bachi then?" Akiya asked, ignoring his question. "I hope you have your will written up, especially since you're not at full power. Isn't that right? You're weak, nothing more than a pathetic demon that can only bully children."

"I'll break your pathetic body in two you pathetic bitch!" he said.

"Just try it," she answered coolly.

Bachi suddenly disappeared. They couldn't see him anywhere. Hiei disappeared, soon, so did Akiya. She teleported next to Hiei's hiding spot. Hiei was planning on keeping in the shadows until Bachi came out of hiding, or at least until he found out where he was hiding.

"Hiding isn't going to help you win this one," Akiya shouted, giving away their hiding spot.

Bodies suddenly came from behind and almost cut Hiei and Akiya. Hiei teleported to the next hiding place and glared at Akiya as a sign to shut up, but she only gave away their position again instead by talking to Bachi. That was how the fight was going for a while, Hiei teleporting to new places to conceal himself, and Akiya giving away their position. Then, she finally saw what she was waiting for, a quick flash of blue. Hiei caught it as well. Akiya threw a kunai at the place where she saw the flash herd a gasp. She had been able to hit Bachi, or at least graze him. Hiei charged in with his sword as did Akiya. They were so close to cutting his head off but some of the bodies jumped in to protect him. Bachi didn't try to hide anymore.

"You may be better fighters than I thought," Bachi commented to Akiya and Hiei. "I shall honor your foolish but brave souls with my full strength!"

"That would be impossible," Akiya said. "For you to be using your full strength against us, you would have to be fully recovered. I've heard that your strength is nowhere near where it was back then. You should be easy enough to beat."

Bachi growled. All of the children that Hiei and Akiya had slayed were rising from the ground. They were surrounded again. Bachi controlled the children and made them attack his two enemies. Hiei and Akiya were back to killing the children, but no matter how many times they attacked them, they would always get right back up. It was a never ending cycle.

"What the hell is this?" Akiya asked to herself.

Bachi laughed malevolently. "It's pointless!" he said, watching the two amused. "You can't kill them! Their souls are already with me! They are merely my hollow puppets!"

"Okay then," Akiya said. "Then take this!"

Akiya performed a series of hand seals and used her Black Flame Technique. It disintegrated all of the bodies and left Bachi defenseless. Hiei went in to attack. He cut him across the chest. As soon as that happened, blue lights started to gather around his cut. When they disappeared, Hiei and Akiya noticed that his wound was gone.

"I use souls to recover and attack with," Bachi explained. "I thought you already knew that."

"Freak," Akiya said.

"If you're gonna use the souls of children to heal yourself and attack us with, then all we have to do is destroy all of your supplies," Hiei stated. "Simple as that."

"You may be able to kill them without regret, but what about your partner?" he taunted.

Akiya lifted her sword and sliced through three souls.

"Actually," she said. "My partner's plan sounds like a great idea!"

The two began to destroy all of the souls with Bachi interfering with his own attacks then and now. Some of them hit and caused some wounds, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Once all of the souls were destroyed, they charged at Bachi again. However, to shield himself from their attack this time, he pulled out a young girl who was gagged. As soon as Bachi did that, the two stopped right where they were.

"That's what I thought," Bachi said amused.

"Coward!" Akiya said angrily yet worried. The young girl that he was holding in front of them was Yukina.

Bachi lifted Yukina off the ground about an inch or so by her throat. Yukina was kicking her legs. Hiei made a move to go in but Bachi threatened him.

"If you even think about doing that, I suck her soul away. It won't be very quiet I might add."

Hiei stayed put. Akiya was trying to think of some way to rescue her but her mind was drawing blanks. Hiei was thinking of teleporting behind him and killing him, but he noticed the barrier that was around him as did Akiya.

'_Hey,' _Hiei called to Akiya telepathically. _'That barrier around him, what is it?'_

'_It's a barrier made out of souls,'_ Akiya answered. _'The souls that he's using for this barrier seems like they're from demons with a lot of energy. It'll block all physical and spiritual attacks…'_

'_Physical **and** spiritual?_ Hiei asked her confused. _'Then what kind of damn attack are we suppose to attack him with? A verbal attack?'_

'_I know a technique that'll work. Only problem is… it requires hand seals…'_

'_And what's wrong with that?'_

'_Look at Yukina! He'll snap her head off if we try to do something suspicious!'_

Hiei, frustrated, made another move to attack. Bachi instantly absorbed some of Yukina's soul as she screamed in pain.

"I said don't move!" Bachi commanded. "Now this is fun!"

"You BASTARD!" Akiya shouted at him, angry that he had hurt Yukina.

Bachi absorbed more of Yukina's soul as she screamed once again.

In a blind fury of rage, Hiei and Akiya charged at Bachi to attack him even though they already knew it was useless. Hiei forcefully drove his sword down at the barrier, trying to push through it. It only pushed Hiei away as he safely landed on his feet. Akiya punched the barrier hard but something knocked her in the stomach and sent her flying backwards.

"I'll have to teach you both a lesson then," Bachi said evilly. "I'll make her scream some more!"

Bachi slowly drained Yukina's soul from her as she screamed as loud as she could, only adding more fuel to Hiei and Akiya's anger. They foolishly charged in again. Souls gathered and charged at them both, knocking them to the ground. They may have been the souls of children, but they had a lot of energy behind it, Bachi's energy. As weak as he was, he still had an enormous amount of energy. Hiei and Akiya got up and charged at Bachi once again only to get beat up every time they did that. They now struggled back to their feet and got into a fighting stance. All that was on their minds was saving Yukina before Bachi drained all of her soul. Nothing else mattered. They lifted their swords and began to attack again. This time, Bachi controlled some of the souls to hold his two enemies in place while he controlled the rest to attack them. By the time Bachi was done, Hiei and Akiya were on the ground, barely able to get up.

"Now, if you stay there, maybe, just maybe, I'll spare this girl's life," Bachi told them.

Seeing as they were weak anyway, they stayed put.

_Botan said that Yukina was in the mountains,_ Akiya thought. _How in the hell did Koenma not know that Yukina was-!_

Both Hiei and Akiya's eyes widened.

_He **did** know! _They both thought at the same time.

_**Flashback**_

"_Well, actually…"Koenma began._

"_What?" Akiya asked._

"_Never mind…" _

_**End Flashback**_

'_Get ready!'_ Akiya sent telepathically to Hiei.

'_Wait! What the hell are you going to do?'_

'_Just teleport when you count to three!'_ Akiya sent confidently. _'Trust me on this one!'_

Hiei counted to three in his head, then teleported immediately while Akiya did the same. When Hiei looked back at where they were before, they were still there. Akiya had created clones of themselves to stay in their place. Akiya performed a series of hand seals. Hiei looked and saw Bachi was surrounded by souls with a dark aura around them. Bachi dropped Yukina to the ground as he fell on his knees in fear. Hiei saw that they were obviously fake, but Bachi seemed to think that they were real.

"Let's go!" Akiya shouted.

They both teleported and landed behind Bachi who fell to the ground dead. Hiei gently picked Yukina up as Akiya checked her pulse.

"Let's hurry," Akiya said. "Her pulse is very weak…"

Hiei nodded in agreement as they began to walk out if the garage and to the portal they had used to get here.

"What did you do to him back there?" Hiei asked.

"It was Illusionary Technique," Akiya answered. "What kind of illusion is created is random. Only people with lots of talent, power, and energy can control what happens…"

"Why didn't you use that earlier?" Hiei asked again.

"Dunno, just wasn't thinking straight… my mind was just way too clouded…"

"As soon as we get back, I'm going to torture that pacifier sucking infant to death!"

"Sure, as long as I get to help."

**At Koenma's**

The girls ran over to Yukina.

"What happened?" Botan asked.

"Oh my gosh!" Keiko cried.

"Yukina?" Shizuru said, looking at her in concern.

"Where's Koenma?" Akiya asked in a low voice which was a sign that she was angry about something he had done.

"H-he's in his office," Botan answered hesitantly.

Hiei and Akiya marched down to Koenma's office and thrust the large doors open. A surprised Koenma and his ogre George, jumped and turned towards the door. Shizuru, Keiko, and Botan were secretly listening in.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Akiya said angrily to him.

"Yukina!" Koenma shouted. "What happened?"

"Don't pretend to be clueless!" Akiya said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Hiei took over.

"I didn't know!" Koenma told them.

"Then tell me what you were going to tell us before we left!" Hiei said dangerously. "Go ahead!"

Koenma kept silent.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Akiya asked with a bit gentler. "You knew that he had Yukina and sent us in like a couple of clueless idiots."

"Well, you would've been angry with me," Koenma said. "And besides, what difference could it have made?"

"We would've known what to expect," Hiei said. "And we wouldn't have charged in blindly and get beat up."

"What are we gonna do with Yukina know, huh?" Akiya asked, trying to suppress her anger. "Over half of her soul was drained. She'll be dead if we don't do something."

"Well… you both could transfer some of your life energy to her," Koenma suggested. "He couldn't have drained her soul because in order to do that, he would've had to extract her soul first. Seeing as how her soul is still in her body, the only thing he took was her life energy."

"That had better be all that he took, because if I find out that you're wrong-" Hiei began threatening but stopped when he noticed the girls hiding. "We nearly died to save her!"

"Relax, that's all," Koenma assured.

Akiya and Hiei silently walked over to Yukina.

"I've got this," Akiya said, also knowing that the girls were watching. "I won't have to use as much to some of my medical background."

Akiya put both her hands over Yukina and started transferring her life energy to her. After a while, she started trembling a bit but paid no mind to it. The only thing on her mind was to give Yukina enough life energy to make sure that she'll be okay. Finally, Akiya stopped giving Yukina her life energy, but she lost her balance and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Akiya!" Koenma shouted alarmed.

Hiei's eyes widened for a split second and the three girls outside ran in.

"Akiya!" Botan cried alarmed.

"Geez, how many people are gonna need an infirmary bed?" Shizuru asked.

"She's given Yukina too much of her life energy!" Koenma informed as if everyone didn't already know. "Hiei, get her to the infirmary!"

**Next Chapter's Preview**

Run Away Forever Chapter 10- A Day's Rest

Koenma has given everyone a day to rest and recover as much as they can. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara are mostly back to normal. Keiko and Shizuru goes home after seeing that everything is about okay again. Yukina goes back to Genkai's for a bit. Akiya recovers quickly as she and Hiei spend some time alone together. Will Akiya begin seeing Hiei as more than a friend? And will Hiei do the same?


	10. A Day's Rest

**Hieifan666-** i know that hiei doesnt really teleport, but personally, i dont think that _Hiei ran_ or _Hiei quickly moved_ or stuff like that really leaves that much of an impression if u know what i mean.i just think that teleport sort of describes the way he moves best. oh, and same for akiya. if you still dont like it, u could just tell me which word u would prefer. just letting u know so i dont seem like a clueless hiei fan. hehe

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 9- Hiei and Akiya's Mission

Hiei and Akiya managed to rescue Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara from Tokujo, one of Rejuko's helper. However, Hiei and Akiya don't get much time to rest because Koenma immediately gave them another mission. They had to kill a demon named Bachi, who took the souls of children to recover himself. He didn't seem like much, until he pulled out his hostage, Yukina. Seeing Yukina getting her soul sucked out, or so it seemed, they blindly charge at Bachi only to get more and more injuries. Finally, Akiya created clones of her and Hiei to stay in their place while she and Hiei could go into hiding. She performed and Illusionary Technique, then they killed him. When they get back to Spirit World, Koenma tells them that Bachi wasn't sucking Yukina's soul, but her life energy and that to ensure her survival, someone just had to transfer part of their life energy to her. Akiya passes out from giving too much energy, but not before Koenma received an earful from her.

**Run Away Forever Chapter 10- A Day's Rest**

Akiya slowly opened her eyes to see a completely white ceiling. She sat up slowly see Koenma rush to her while Hiei took his time walking over.

"Akiya?" Koenma called.

"What happened?" Akiya asked to no one in particular, trying to recall what had happened before.

"You gave out too much of your life energy," Hiei responded flatly. "So much for your medical background."

"Hiei had to donate some of his energy to you," Koenma said.

"Oh, um, thanks," Akiya said quietly. "How are the other three?"

"They're fine, thanks to you again. They're all in the Ningenkai doing stuff," Koenma replied relieved. "Akiya, thanks a lot. You've been a lot of help."

"Sure," she said.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we're not going on any missions today, so you can rest up and do whatever," Koenma told them. "Just don't get hurt. We have to do some investigating tomorrow."

With that, Koenma left to his office. Yusuke was with Keiko, Kuwabara went back home with Shizuru, and Kurama went back home to help his human mother, Shiori. Yukina was back at Genkai's because Koenma asked her to go. Botan was with Koenma working. That left Hiei and Akiya. They both sat in silence.

"Hey," Akiya suddenly said to Hiei. "Let's go outside."

Hiei looked at her questioningly but led her outside. They went through a portal to the Human World and into the forest. Hiei and Akiya walked in until they were at a cliff. Below them was a beautiful, clean lake that was sparkling under the bright sun. On the other side of the lake, across from them, was an empty field of fresh grass. Akiya took a seat on one of the trees while Hiei stood on the edge of the cliff. Both of them were silent.

"Why did you ask me to come with you?" Hiei asked suddenly.

Akiya looked at him a bit confused. "I thought you liked being in the woods where it's nice and quiet. Or was I wrong?" Akiya asked.

"How would _you _know what I like?" Hiei asked flatly.

"Dunno," Akiya simply replied. "You just seem like the type that likes this kind on stuff."

"This kind of _stuff_?" Hiei asked her, looking at her funny. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Akiya laughed lightly, but didn't respond to his question. Hiei didn't bother to push for one. They both stayed silent, enjoying the outdoors. It was more relaxing but also uncomforting at the same time. Was it because they were alone together? Hiei shifted a few times.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Akiya asked quietly.

Hiei kept silent.

"You're just like Hayate-san," Akiya said as Hiei turned to look at her. "He would never answer me when I ask him questions like that. You're both so shy. Then again, I'm not one to talk."

Hiei still kept silent and looked back at the lake.

"Hey," Akiya called. "Say something, would ya? I want to know more about you other than the fact that you act just like Hayate-san."

More silence.

"Why did they toss you off, the Koorime…?" Akiya asked suddenly. "Did you do something wrong? Was it because you were a fire apparition? What'd you do?"

"That's none of your business," Hiei replied.

"C'mon," Akiya said. "I said all that and all you can say to me are five words? Geez… if I didn't know you two, I'd say you were twins…"

"Why are you so curious?" Hiei asked her.

Akiya looked at him and shut her mouth. Hiei was probably annoyed with her. She couldn't help but feel as if Hayate was with her instead of Hiei, but there was one thing that made him different from Hayate. Akiya decided to just keep quiet. After all, she knew how annoying it was to be bothered when she wanted to be left alone in peace and quiet. It remained silent for nearly half an hour.

"Do I really remind you of him _that_ much?" Hiei asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," she simply replied.

"How?" Hiei asked again.

"Aren't we curious now," Akiya joked as Hiei glared at her. "Relax will ya? There's already one reason why I think you're so much like him. I mean, the way you act, you're like mirror images of each other."

"Hn."

It became silent again.

"They never accepted me, even though I was only a baby at the time," Hiei unexpectedly said as Akiya looked at him silently and questioningly. "Koorime is a place where there are only ice maidens. The females can reproduce on their own, so they didn't need males. My mother however, mated with a fire demon. Yukina was accepted because of her appearance and powers. She was _one of the Koorime_. I however, was a bad omen, something that would only bring misfortune to their home, so they tossed me off into the Makai…"

"So you were alone from the beginning also?" Akiya accidentally asked out loud.

"_Also_?" Hiei questioned.

"Uh… n-nothing," Akiya replied, just realizing that she had voiced her thought.

"What about you?" Hiei asked.

Akiya gave him a confused look.

"Back then… what happened," he said not wanting to be direct.

Akiya had an even more confused look.

"Your past," Hiei said, not looking at her.

"Nothing… but pain… and betrayal…" she said quietly as Hiei turned to look at Akiya who stared straight ahead. "Everyone I held close to my heart… they all died… either protecting me… or fighting me. Then there were people who pretended to be my friends, and people who I'd never even heard of before… back then, when I was fourteen in my first life in the Makai, some kitsune and his friend captured me… hurt me and stuff… I can remember that moment so clearly… but I can't seem to see their faces… but anyway, they killed me, or sort of anyway. I was able to escape to… another body I guess you could say."

"And you wound up in that village," Hiei said.

"My, aren't we smart," Akiya said sarcastically. "Well anyway, I've been wondering, your mother, how is she?"

"I… don't know," Hiei replied, a bit embarrassed that he didn't know how his mother had been.

It became silent once more. They didn't like this kind of silence. It made them both feel constricted somehow. Akiya wanted to ask him something, but just didn't know how.

"We're friends, right?" Akiya asked, even though it wasn't what she meant to ask.

"What?" Hiei asked.

Akiya jumped down from the tree and suddenly hugged Hiei. Hiei's expression was between a shocked and a confused one. He didn't embrace her back. In fact, he was too stunned to do anything. It was the first time that a girl just hugged him all of a sudden.

"W-what are you-" Hiei was at a lost for words for the first time.

After a bit longer, Akiya let go and looked at Hiei who was still shocked and confused. She was smiling slightly.

"Sorry… I had to know," she said a bit shyly.

"Know what?" Hiei asked, returning to normal a bit.

"It's a secret," she said smiling.

Hiei kept silent. _What was that all about?_ Hiei thought. _She isn't acting like she always does…_

_Hayate-san was right… Hiei does lack something,_ Akiya thought to herself._ I thought that maybe he had figured out what it was… but… even now… how come… how can he still not realize it? _

Akiya looked over to Hiei.

_I guess I'll just have to help him get what he's missing._

She grabbed Hiei's hand and led him around to the other side of the lake.

"Let's go down there," Akiya said.

Hiei looked confused yet again, but he followed her. They went down from the cliff and over the open field of grass. There, they sat down next to each other by the lake. Akiya glanced over at Hiei a couple of times to see his expression, but it remained emotionless. Akiya mentally sighed. It was no use. She should've known that it would take more than just sitting together at a lake to make him see what he lacked. It was already past noon.

"Oh yeah," Akiya said, breaking the silence again. "I forgot to give you this. Your mother told me to give this to you when I finally got the chance to meet you."

She handed him a necklace with a silver chain and a gem on it. Hiei, surprised, took it from her.

"This is-"

"A Koorime tear gem," Akiya finished for him. "It'll protect you."

"Like I need some necklace to stay alive," Hiei stated.

"Maybe you do," Akiya said.

"What's that… supposed to mean…?" Hiei shouted at first, but finished normally.

"Relax, relax," Akiya said. "I was just joking."

"I don't joke," Hiei dangerously said suddenly. "If you want to joke with me, then you might as well-"

It started raining all of a sudden.

"What the!" Akiya said as she quickly stood up.

The sky was clear and blue just a few minutes ago, and now, there were large gray clouds bunched together, pouring rain on the two people. Hiei noticed a cave nearby and walked over to it with Akiya following him. Thunder struck the sky. They could tell that it was going to be a while before the rain stopped. Time seemed to go so slowly. Every second felt like an hour for the two people sitting in the cave mutely. The two were motionless, as if frozen in spot. They didn't know why this was. Akiya normally liked the rain, and Hiei didn't mind it, but now, they both wanted it to stop as soon as possible so they could get back to the palace.

"It's uh… weird, isn't it?" Akiya asked. "I feel so… tense. What about you?"

"Hn," Hiei replied.

_Man he's hard to get a reply from!_ Akiya thought. "Other than Yukina and the other detectives, is there anyone else that you care about? Maybe, say… a girl?" she asked him slyly and a bit sarcastically.

"No," Hiei said without a second thought. "Women are pathetic and useless, and the offspring that they produce are nothing more than they are; weak, foolish, and all they do is take up space and fill their world with more and more stupidity."

"Offspring like you and your sister?" Akiya asked trying to keep her cool.

In less than a second, Akiya found herself pinned to the wall with Hiei's hand wrapped around her throat, depriving her of air. She didn't try to resist or push him away. Her eyes were completely emotionless as she stared into Hiei's angry ones.

"What are you so angry about?" Akiya asked in a slightly mocking tone. "You said it yourself. The offspring that are produced are pathetic, useless, weak, and foolish… all they do is take up space and fill the world with more stupidity. You're no exception you know! You _are_ an offspring, aren't you? What makes you think you're any different?"

Hiei's grip on her throat tightened. He was irritated with her acting like she knew everything there was to know. What he hated more was that she thought she knew everything about _him_. However, Hiei seemed to feel a bit sympathetic for some reason. He loosened his grip on Akiya and eventually let her go. Akiya massaged her throat a bit, looking outside. The rain was still pouring heavily. They both sat down again.

_That wasn't supposed to happen…_ Akiya thought.

She felt a bit bad and guilty for saying what she did. Hiei was just like Hayate. She knew that much, so she knew that their responses would most likely be similar. What Hiei said was probably what Hayate would've said.

"Sorry," Akiya apologized quietly. "I… shouldn't have said what I did."

Hiei didn't respond to her at all.

"I just wanted to help," Akiya told him, earning another confused look from Hiei. "Remember, back at Genkai's when we were training? Hayate said that you lacked something that made you a lot weaker than he was. I wanted to help you, but that was a stupid idea. You need to realize it yourself… but I'm amazed that someone like you would lack something so important."

"What are you talking about? The only thing that I lack is the patience to deal people like you," Hiei said.

Akiya scooted closer to Hiei.

"Do me a favor," Akiya said as she put her hand on his chest, over his heart. "That's where I wanna be… that's where I want you to look… to trust…"

"What are you blabbering about?" Hiei asked.

"You'll see someday," she replied. _At least… I hope so…_

"Why are you acting so different around me?" Hiei asked curiously. "Are you this open to your friends?"

"No," Akiya answered. "Just you and him."

"Why?"

"Dunno."

"Do you… care about anyone… other than your friends... like a guy… other than him?" Hiei hesitantly asked.

"Of course," Akiya answered pleasantly, smiling at him. _In fact… he's right here with me._

Hiei blushed very slightly you couldn't even tell. He was reading her mind when she thought what she did.

"Me too," Hiei said.

Akiya looked at him with a horribly shocked expression.

"You have a **_guy_** that you care for!" Akiya asked completely stunned.

"No!" Hiei shouted at her embarrassed. "I mean that I have a girl that I care for!"

"Good!" Akiya said with a big smile on her face. "You're starting to obtain what you were missing! That's great!"

"Hn!"

Akiya laughed a bit. Hiei felt something he never felt before. It wasn't that he loved her or anything. It was just that he felt so free when she was around. Everything from his past that he would constantly think about without anyone knowing was suddenly lifted off of his heart. His heart that was encased in ice was starting to melt. He wondered if Akiya had felt the same way.

"It stopped raining," Akiya said, pulling Hiei out of his thoughts. "We should go back. It's probably been raining for hours now."

Akiya walked out of the cave but Hiei stopped her before she could go any further.

"Do you really want to go back to that baby right now?" Hiei asked her, trying to say that he wants to stay longer.

"I suppose you have a point," Akiya said. "Yeah, let's stay longer."

**-----Next Chapter's Preview-----**

Run Away Forever Chapter 11-Ninja Invasion

The detectives, all fully recovered, go to investigate a city that has been overrun with ninjas. Who is behind the attack? Is it Rejuko, or someone else? Akiya seems to be very hesitant in fighting these ninjas…


	11. Ninja Invasion

**dna-** thankz everyone for reading my fanfic till now! it makes me happy to know that ppl enjoy my story! well newayz, im srry that these chapters are coming out so slow. im trying to get them out as fast as i can. really... aside from my crappy computer freezing up all the time, theres also my damn history teacher...(BITCH! I WANNA KILL HER!) srry, newayz, well, she assigns a project for **every **chapter so... yeah, and she just assigned some project thats worth 150 points... and the worst part... it was assigned a month ago, duenext week... AND I HAVENT STARTED! ok... hope you enjoy chapter 11!

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 10- A Day's Rest

Everyone's pretty much back to normal and are in the Ningenkai. Koenma and Botan are doing work while Hiei and Akiya get to spend time alone together. The two of them have a nice talk, arguing from time to time, but other than that, they got along pretty well. Akiya gives Hiei a necklace like Yukina's, a thin silver chain with a Koorime tear gem on it. Not long after that, it started raining heavily, so the sheltered in a cave. There, they talk some more, seeming to enjoy each other's company…

**Run Away Forever Chapter 11- Ninja Invasion**

Everyone was gathered in Koenma's office as he gave them the details of their next mission.

"Fushimi City has been overrun with ninjas," Koenma said. "It's seems a bit unusual. If someone was to take over a city, Fushimi City would be one of the ones at the very bottom of the list. It has nothing of value, at least not enough for it to be attacked for. It wouldn't be worth the effort, or at least to me anyway. I would like you to go to Fushimi City and drive the ninjas out. Even if that city isn't all that important or well populated, there are still innocent lives that are being taken away in that city. Try to resolve to as less killing as possible, however, kill as many of the attackers as you must. Now, go."

Koenma opened a portal for them to Fushimi City. They all went in and landed right outside of the city. From where they were standing, they could already see many dead bodies on the ground. They were all men however. None of the bodies that were lying on the ground belonged to any women or children, and none of them were the bodies of the elderly people. Everywhere they looked, there were destroyed homes and buildings. Light poles, electrical poles… most of them were on the ground in half, or in pieces. They could see the women, children, and the elderly cowering together in certain spots in fear.

"This is insane," Yusuke commented as he and everyone else began to walk in the village.

"At least they have spared the women and children, and the elderly," Kurama said as the people who were still alive were staring at them in fear.

"What kind of stupid ninjas are attacking this place?" Kuwabara asked, Akiya standing right beside him, as he just noticed. "Ah! I didn't mean anything by that Akiya really! I was talking about _them_! Not you!"

Akiya didn't respond as Kurama and Yusuke told him to be quiet. Hiei drew his sword as Kurama reached behind his hair, ready to pull out his rose if necessary. Akiya reached down to her thigh where one of her strapped equipment pockets were, ready to pull out a kunai. There was a poof and seven ninjas appeared before them. They were completely covered up, and they had a piece of black cloth to cover up their nose and mouth, making it impossible to see anything but their eyes. All of the ninjas seemed to look at Akiya as she looked back at them, wondering why they were staring at her. In the background, they could see many more ninjas around and killing all the men who opposed them or confronted them.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Kuwabara said shouted. "They're not doing anything to you! Leave them alone!"

"You don't really expect them to listen, do you?" Yusuke joked. "Cause I know we wouldn't stop beating them up if they told us to."

The ninjas all performed the same combination of hand seals and used an Earth Dome Technique to trap everyone inside, but Akiya quickly countered with an Exploding Shadow Clone Technique. Akiya's three clones that were created jumped towards her seven enemies as they tried to escape from the clones. They didn't take more than four steps when the clones exploded and knocked them out.

"Whoa! Nice one Akiya!" Yusuke complimented.

"Are these ninjas of Rejuko's?" Kurama asked as the nearby ninjas surrounded them and began to close in on them.

"Probably," Akiya answered.

The ninjas began to attack them though it seemed as if they were trying to avoid Akiya. Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun which knocked quite a few of them away. Kuwabara attacked them with his Spirit Sword, hitting half the time and missing the other half. Kurama summoned his Rose Whip and lashed it at every ninja that he could reach, killing some and leaving others seriously wounded. Hiei was killing left and right, disappearing and appearing everywhere as was Akiya. As Akiya was slashing her enemies, one of their masks fell off and she recognized the face. She suddenly stopped attacking and paled. Enemies were closing in on her but she stood where she was, frozen from shock. Yusuke blasted his Spirit Gun and knocked away some of the ninjas that were about to hit Akiya as Hiei killed the rest. All of the attacking ninjas were now either dead, or unconscious. There were no more ninjas… for the time being.

"Akiya?" Kurama asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"You alright?" Yusuke asked her.

Akiya remained silent.

"Hey," Kuwabara tried.

"It's… nothing…" Akiya replied just before Hiei lost his patience.

"Bu-" Kuwabara began but was stopped when Kurama put his hand on Kuwabara's shoulder and shook his head.

"Let's go," Akiya said as she led the group into the city. "Try not to kill anymore ninjas…"

As they got deeper in the city, more and more ninjas ambushed them, every time getting harder and harder to beat. And every time, it was the same. The ninjas all tried to avoid fighting Akiya.

They assumed that since the security was tougher as they got further in, that what the ninjas were here for was close by. They were in front of a temple when Akiya suddenly signaled for everyone to stop. Kuwabara however, wasn't paying any attention and continued on.

"Kuwabara, no!" Akiya shouted, trying to keep her voice down.

Kuwabara was about to put his foot down right on top of a wired trap. Akiya swiftly took out three of her shuriken and chucked them at Kuwabara's leg. The shuriken pinned his pant sleeves along with his leg to the tree right beside them.

"What's the big idea!" Kuwabara panicked. "You could've hit my leg!"

"It's a trap," Akiya said, pointing to a barely visible string to the others as they looked at it.

It was a thin transparent wire that was most likely attached to some Explosive Talismans. There were many more of those traps. There were invisible wires everywhere. It was low enough so that they couldn't go under, and spaced closely enough so that they can't try to squeeze between them. There was no way for them to get any further with those traps. Akiya looked at how high up the traps were set and saw no wires at first, but when she looked closer, she could see that all of the wires that were placed up there. It was impossible to get over. The wires alone were no problem, but the barrier that was set right below them on the other side would've thrown them back right at the wires when they landed on them. They suddenly heard talking from behind them. Everyone concealed themselves in the bushes nearby. Akiya quickly unpinned Kuwabara and pulled him over to the bushes, joining the rest of the group. Two of the ninjas were coming. The detectives carefully observed how they were going to get past the traps.

Both of the ninjas performed a couple of hand seals before they jumped over all of the traps and were directly over the barrier. Akiya was very carefully observing as the two went through the barrier on the exact same spot and landed on the other side of the traps. Once they were out of sight, the detectives came out of hiding.

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" Yusuke asked, confused about how they got through the barrier.

"Yeah, how did they get over that barrier?" Kuwabara asked to no one in particular.

"I should've known," Akiya said, getting everyone's attention as she began to explain. "They purposely left a weak spot on the barrier so that they could leave when needed."

"Weak spot?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, in other words, where those two entered," Akiya said. "A single spot that is weak enough for people to pass through. How clever."

"Well then, I hope someone took notes," Yusuke joked in a serious tone. "I sure as hell don't remember the spot they entered."

"There," Akiya said as she threw a couple of talismans up to the barrier to mark the spot. "That's the spot."

"Are you sure?" Kurama asked.

"Trust me, I have a really good memory," Akiya said confidently. "Just don't miss, and don't accidentally hit one of those wires."

"We would be over there by now but unfortunately, this oaf has weak legs," Hiei said, mocking Kuwabara.

"Shut up!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Unless you want them to hear us, quiet down!" Kurama ordered in a hushed voiced.

"That's right," Akiya agreed as created a clone of herself to carry Kuwabara over. "Now let's go!"

Kuwabara and her clone went first followed by everyone else. There was a large building in front of them. It looked pretty old with all the dust and dirt all over it, but it was actually a new building. They were about to go in, but a ninja dropped down, stepping between them and the door. At least fifty more ninjas dropped behind the first ninja. He was apparently the leader of the group. Yusuke and the others got into a fighting stance as did the ninjas, but Akiya held out her arm to hold them back from attacking. The leader of the ninjas did the same.

"What's going on here… Noyaru-san?" Akiya asked.

The leader took off the cloth that covered his face. He had light green hair and sharp orange eyes.

"Akiya," he acknowledged.

"Ey, you know him Akiya?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "He's Taoma Nayoru, one of the ninja squad leaders. They do some of the missions that Hiro and the others are unable to attend to because they're on other missions."

"So they're kinda like a back up squad?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"You said that they attend to missions that your friends are unable attend to," Kurama said to her. "I assume that that means they're from your village. Am I right?"

"What!" Kuwabara asked shocked.

"So you've been letting us kill ninjas from your village?" Yusuke asked confused. "Why?"

"Akiya," Nayoru called, interrupting their little conversation. "Imaru-sama would like a word with you. He's waiting-"

"No!" Hiei interrupted. "If he has to say something, then tell him to come out and tell us all."

"You have no need to worry," Nayoru said. "We won't harm a ninja from our own village."

"I know you won't," Hiei said. "That's exactly why he should come out and tell us. You may not do anything to _her_, but you could do something to us while she's talking to the old man."

"Have some respect!" Nayoru said sternly. "Akiya, come!"

"Don't!" Yusuke said just as sternly.

"Akiya!"

"Very well," came a familiar voice as the ninjas cleared a path for him. It was Imaru. "You wish to know what we talk about, then you shall."

"Imaru-sama…" Akiya said.

"I have an important matter to discuss with you," Imaru began. "However, since they will not let you leave, I will have to discuss this openly. Beyond there, lies the _Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds_."

"What!" Akiya asked, seeming stunned.

"The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds," Kurama repeated, obviously having heard of it somewhere.

"What is it?" Yusuke asked Akiya in a hushed voice.

Akiya didn't reply, but Imaru continued. "As you know, this is very dangerous Akiya. The spirit _in_ the talisman has its own will and is extremely powerful. Even though it is very strong right now, it can be taken over easily because of its weak form. I'm sure that you've heard that the spirit contained in the talisman is pure, and good, however, that is not true. The spirit is evil. We cannot leave it as it is, otherwise, all three worlds will crumble. Akiya, you cannot let Koenma activate it like he was planning to do."

"What do you mean _'like he was planning'_ Imaru-sama?" Akiya asked.

"He's using you!" Imaru warned.

Akiya was taken back.

"Hey! Don't try to make her go running back to you!" Yusuke said.

"Yeah! Don't go blabbering about something so horrible!" Kuwabara defended. "It'll make her think that we're bad, and it'll make us seem like we're the bad guys too!"

"I'm not blaming anything on you four," Imaru said. "I'm blaming it on your boss. He only wanted Akiya to use her. He wants to sacrifice her."

"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked. "He merely sent us in here to help the city to be rid of the invading ninjas."

Imaru laughed to himself. "He sent you to here to get rid of _'invading ninjas'_ or to get rid of obstacles? Koenma knows that we will try to stop him eventually so he's trying to stop us now."

"If you're so innocent, then why were you killing off those harmless people?" Hiei questioned after keeping silent for a long time.

"Come with me," Imaru said as he began walking.

Imaru led everyone to a different way out of the barrier and back near the front of the city where the other ninjas had gathered all of the innocent people. Akiya and the detectives shuddered at what they felt from these people.

"Do you feel that?" Imaru asked, knowing that they did. "All of that is the negative energy that the spirit is feeding into these innocent people. If we let them live, they will eventually die a slow and painful death and infect others that don't have enough energy to resist it. If we kill them now, we can give them a quick and painless death as well as save thousands of others."

"No way…" Yusuke said. "Killing others to save others… that's not right."

"Then would you rather have them live and then eventually die, taking thousands of others along with them?" Imaru asked.

"Isn't there a cure or something?" Kuwabara asked him.

"If there was, we wouldn't be using this hideous method, now would we?"

"Hn, who knows," Hiei replied coldly. "The way you mistreated the onna, I can't really tell."

"Still have a mouth on you?" Imaru asked in a mocking way. "Shall I have Hayate shut it up again sometime?"

Hiei drew his sword halfway but stopped when he saw Akiya hold up her hand in front of the people that were trembling from fear. She sent a blast of energy at the people and instantly disintegrated the ones she hit.

"Akiya!" Kurama yelled with a shocked look on his face like everyone else's, even Imaru's and Hiei's.

Yusuke grabbed her roughly by her shirt. "What the hell do you think you're doing! These are innocent lives you're killing!"

"I'm sorry," Akiya said. "I meant it when I said that I could kill people without hesitation. It's just the way that we operate."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Kuwabara asked, furious as well. "You don't care if you have to kill innocent lives!"

"That may be the way _you_ operate, but that's not how _we_ operate!" Yusuke said sternly. "You're with us now, so you operate our way, got that!"

"That's the way everybody operates, not only us!" Akiya defended. "You do it too! You sacrifice innocent lives so that you can save others! Or are you saying that you don't do that?"

_She makes a good point…_ Kurama thought.

Yusuke let Akiya go, knowing that she was right. He knew that it would've been better to kill of these people and put them out of their miseries and before they spread it everywhere. He watched along with the others as Akiya killed the rest of the people. Hiei saw that Akiya had an emotionless expression on her face, but her eyes told him that she hated every minute of doing what she was doing. Her eyes showed that doing what she was doing was tearing her soul apart. Imaru observed Hiei and walked over next to him. Yusuke and Kuwabara couldn't watch so they waited for her outside of the city with Kurama who tried to assure them that everything was going to be fine.

"It isn't that she has no hesitation killing people," Imaru told Hiei. "She just doesn't want the death of innocent lives on anyone's conscious other than her own. That's how much she cares about us…"

"If you know that, then you should value her more," Hiei simply said.

"It would be wrong if we did that," Imaru said. "If we acted like we were okay with her killing innocent lives, then it would only make her feel dirty… if we acted like it was okay, it would've been saying that we were heartless and was only using her to do our dirty work. That would be cruel…"

_So it's not that he hates her… _Hiei thought._ He was trying to help her feel better. Acting the way he did back at the village made it look like he hated her for being heartless, so that made her feel like she was helping him by not making him carry the weight of murder on his shoulders as well as the rest of the village. If he had acted nice to her after she had killed a handful of people, it would've made it look like they were just plain and what she was doing for them was only dirty work…_ "But it's no good if she already knows…" Hiei said out loud, meaning for Imaru to hear it.

"Hm?" Imaru questioned.

Akiya joined Hiei and Imaru shortly afterwards. Imaru immediately walked away as Hiei and Akiya joined Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara outside and made their way to the portal that was going to take them back to Spirit World.

**-----Next Chapter's Preview-----**

Run Away Forever Chapter 12- The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds

The gang learns about the legend of the ultimate talisman, but is that really all there is to it? Or does it contain secrets far beyond what the detectives could ever imagine?


	12. The Ultimate Talismans of the Three Worl...

**dna-** srry that it took so long2 post up such a short chap, but i didn't know wut to put in this chap cuz it turned out much shorter than i had expected so... newayz, hope u enjoy dis chap!

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 11- Ninja Invasion

Koenma sends his detectives to Fushimi City to take care of some invading ninjas. When they reach the city, they are immediately ambushed. One of the ninjas' mask slips off and Akiya instantly recognizes him. He was a ninja from her village. After the detectives continue and get pass the barrier that was set up near the middle of the city, Akiya meets Taoma Nayoru, a backup squad leader ninja. Imaru was there with him and talked to Akiya and the others about the Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds, something very dangerous. Then he reveals to everyone that Koenma was only using Akiya, sacrificing her... now, the detectives are back at Spirit World…

**Run Away Forever Chapter 12- The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds**

"Alright Koenma, what's up with this ultimate talisman thingy?" Yusuke asked Koenma.

"_Ultimate talisman thingy_?" Koenma repeated. "You know Yusuke, being more specific would be help."

"The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds," Kurama told him.

"Oh, _that_ talisman thingy," Koenma said. "It's a talisman that holds a spirit of some kind. Rumors say that the spirit is pure, but in reality, it's evil. It's only a spirit trapped in a talisman, but it's extremely powerful."

"But it can easily be taken over, right?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well…" Koenma paused to think. "Yeah, at least I think so. After all, it hasn't regained its form or gone into its master's body yet."

"What's so dangerous about some talisman?" Hiei asked. "What can it do? Attach itself to some idiot's face and make them smart?"

"Actually, it's very dangerous," Koenma informed. "Even trapped in the talisman, it can kill millions of people. However, destructive as it is, it's the only thing will protect the three worlds and keep them in balance."

"If someone were to… say… use it… what will happen to the worlds seeing as how that lone talisman keeps them in perfect balance and protect them?" Kurama asked carefully.

Koenma went silent. "I… don't know," he finally said after nearly a minute, causing everyone to nearly fall over.

"Whadda ya mean you don't know!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted at him together.

"I mean I don't know," Koenma said. "In other words, I have no idea what would happen, and I wouldn't _want_ to know."

"Actually… its name is quite ironic," Akiya spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds isn't really the _only_ one. There's actually two. The one that we're discussing about is the dark one, or at least I think so. As you probably know, there is a controversy for everything. The rule that applies to every controversy and the one that makes up the world is the yin and yang controversy. For every darkness, there's always a light. If there's a dark talisman, then there has to be a light talisman. That's how they can protect the worlds and keep them from crumbling. If the darkness talisman were the only one to exist, then the worlds would be worse than hell… if there's only a light, then I don't even want to think about it…"

"Why?" Kuwabara asked. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Yusuke, Botan, and Koenma nodded in agreement.

"Not really," Akiya said. _It could be worse than the dark talisman… a **lot** worse…_

"I don't get it," Botan said. "How can pure light not be good?"

"But who said light was _pure_?" Akiya asked, confusing everyone. "But the question that I've been wanting to ask still stands." Akiya looked at Koenma straight in the eye, making him a bit nervous. "Did you merely recruit me to use me?"

"What!" Koenma exclaimed, appalled at the thought that she would ask him something like that.

"Well?" Akiya asked.

"Of course not!" Koenma shouted.

"Alright… I'll hold you to your word then," Akiya said. She suddenly twitched slightly and had a slight look of shock on her face.

_Meet me in the forest where you had your precious… alone time… with the fire demon,_ a familiar voice sent telepathically to her.

"Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have someone to meet," she said, returning to normal.

"Uh, sure…" Koenma said hesitantly, obviously knowing that something up. After Akiya was out of the door, Koenma dismissed the detectives.

Akiya-----

"So, you came," a very familiar voice said. "You've made a wise choice."

"What do you want?" Akiya demanded while glaring at Rejuko.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that you did an excellent job in explaining about the _ultimate talisman thingy_, as Yusuke Urameshi called it," Rejuko said in a sarcastic voice.

"Just tell me what you called me out here for!" Akiya said dangerously though there was a hint of fear in her voice. "The sooner you get out of my face, the better!"

"My, my, aren't we impatient," Rejuko joked, annoying Akiya. "Very well, I'll get straight to the point then. As you know, what you told the detectives is correct. There are two talismans that keep the world in check, but as you know, the concept of the light talisman is quite different than what they can or ever would imagine. We've found the dark talisman. Would you like to know where the light talisman is?"

"And why would I want that information from _you_?" Akiya asked coldly. "And even if I did, why would I even believe you in the first place?"

"Someone's in a foul mood today," he joked some more.

Akiya growled in irritation.

"Are you scared? Is that why you're so uncomfortable around me?" Rejuko asked her mockingly.

Her hand moved towards the hilt of her katana.

"Are you sure you want to draw that sword?" he asked her.

Akiya suddenly felt something cold and sharp against her neck. She turned her head slightly and looked out of the corner of her eye to find that Rejuko had moved behind her already with a kunai at her throat. Seeing that Akiya still hadn't removed her hand from her katana, he pushed the point of his weapon deeper against her skin. She dropped her hand to her side as Rejuko smirked.

"That's my good girl," he said amused. "Now, act like the cute girl you are and listen to me when I have information to tell you, especially when it makes you want to come running to me."

"Quit dreaming!"

Rejuko laughed. "I like the way you act, you know that? You're the only girl that would act like that around me when they know who I am."

He put away his kunai as Akiya turned around to face him.

"As I was saying before," he continued, "I have some information to tell you about the light talisman, like its location. It's closer than you think."

"And how close would_ that_ be?"

"_Very_ close. In fact, it's right here with us as we speak."

"Yeah right!" she said, accusing him of lying.

"I mean it," he said, pretending to be hurt at the fact that she didn't trust him.

"The light talisman is something that's important and powerful! Why would it be in a forest like this one?"

"You should treat it like an object. After all, it's someone we both know."

"Nonsense! The talisman can't be a person!"

"Oh, but it can be a person, or at least _in _one," he said.

"You're saying that thing is in someone?"

"Yes."

"I'm not stupid! I would know if the talisman was in someone, especially if I knew them!"

"No you wouldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because _you_ are the light talisman…"

Akiya was frozen in spot. She was the light talisman? It wasn't possible. Rejuko saw her expression and smirked.

"What's wrong? Shocked?" he asked. "Wondering how it's possible maybe?"

"Why should I believe what you say?" Akiya asked in a shaky voice. "Give me proof that what you're saying is true."

"Alright," he answered. "Back at that Fushimi City, you killed those people without any trouble. That enough for you? Or do you still want more proof?"

"How would you know how I was feeling when I killed off those people? How would you know that I killed them without any trouble?" Akiya asked.

"I didn't mean it _that_ way," he replied. "I meant that people controlled by the dark talisman are resistant to regular spiritual energy. It takes the power of the light energy to kill them the way you did. You know that already. Do you really need to hear that from me again? Or is it that you're afraid you'll hurt your precious new friends?"

No reply from Akiya.

"I must compliment you though," Rejuko said. "I'm surprised that you're able to suppress its powers still. You're quite amazing, if I do say so myself."

Akiya still kept silent.

"However, if you ever lose your grip on it, you know that its energy will come bursting out of _your_ body, and that you won't be able to help it if you kill your friends, which you most likely will if that ever happens. And if it ever takes over your body, it will take over your soul and be living as you, your evil side. I have to say, if that happens, then we're all doomed. You know even better than I do what your evil side is like. So think about it. I _can_ help you if that ever happens. I suggest you come with me… unless you're satisfied with killing your…_ friends_. I'll leave you alone to think it over…"

With that, Rejuko vanished. Akiya was motionless for nearly ten minutes, trying to absorb everything in. She began walking absentmindedly through the forest. She stopped on the edge of a very high cliff. Akiya looked straight ahead.

_What Rejuko said… is it really true?_ Akiya asked herself._ How can I be the light talisman? How would I not have known?_

Hiei-----

He was sitting on a tree in a forest. Hiei was enjoying the peace and quiet. He looked down and his eyes widened at who he saw… Akiya. She was just standing there, as if something was occupying her mind. Hiei decided that he would take a little peek at what she was thinking about. The only thing that he could get out of that was _I'm the light talisman_ echoing all over her mind. He remembered that she had mentioned the light talisman back when they were talking the Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds, and that it could be worse than the dark talisman. His eyes widened at the information.

_That means that… she the light talisman?_

He decided to ask her about it, so he jumped down from the tree and landed behind Akiya. She was so drawn into her thoughts that she didn't even notice him.

"Hey," Hiei called, but got no reply. "Hey!" Still no reply.

Hiei grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. She was surprised at who she saw.

"H-Hiei?" she asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied. "And where's the person that you had to meet?

"He already left," she answered.

"So why are you out here still then?" Hiei asked again.

"I was just… enjoying the nice weather," Akiya made up.

"You look more distressed and worried," Hiei said, wanting her to tell him about the light talisman without being direct. "You have something one your mind. What is it?"

"It's nothing." _Should I tell him? What would he do if I did?_

Hiei decided to try to pry it out of her without being obvious.

"Who did you meet with?" he began.

"An old friend," she simply answered.

"What did he need to talk to you about?"

"Just… stuff. Anyway, what about you? You come here to personally see me or something?" Akiya joked.

"Keep dreaming," Hiei said, playing along. "I have better things to look at."

"What!" Akiya asked with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe that Hiei just insulted her like that.

"And shut your mouth already, you're killing the trees with the air you're breathing out," he continued.

"Shut up!" she shouted in Hiei's face. "You're the fire demon! Your breath is running the sun outta business!"

So, the insult parade marched on with them throwing insults back and forth at each other. Hiei had no problem with coming up with insults to throw at her. After all, he did it all the time with Kuwabara. He figured that if he went along with her and changed the subject for a while, he would be able to ask her about the light talisman later and get a straight answer. So, after some time, Hiei tried asking again,

"Hey, do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"Like what?"

"That's what I want to know," Hiei replied.

Akiya thought for a bit, and decided that she wouldn't tell him. "I can't think of anything… why?"

"Nothing…" _If she doesn't want me to know that much, then I won't push her for an answer anymore. It'll only make her worse…_

Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 13- Attacked!

Koenma's palace suddenly gets attacked by demons _and_ ninjas. The more they kill, the more they come, but if that's the case, then what are they supposed to do? Any attack that Rejuko's behind can't be good, but why is he attacking the palace anyway?


	13. Attacked!

**dna-** i am soooooooooooo sorry that this chap took so long! really! im not kidding... i had writers block on this story _and_ my furuba fanfic... its a weak excuse but... oh! and i went to ocean city. ha! thats a good excuse! (even tho i only went for two days...) anywayz, im sorry that this one took so long. hope u all enjoy this chap! and will ppl plz tell me if you need to recap for the chapters cuz if u dont, then i wont write them anymore. thanx!

Recap- Run Away Forever Chapter 12- The Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds

Akiya reveals to Koenma and the rest of the detectives that the Ultimate Talisman of the Three Worlds wasn't only one, but two talismans. Rejuko calls Akiya to meet him in the forest, which she does. He reveals to her that she is the light talisman and tells her to join his group. Hiei reads Akiya's mind and finds out this information as well, but when he asked her about it, she wouldn't tell him, so Hiei just decided to drop the subject…

**Run Away Forever Chapter 13- Attacked!**

Yusuke and the others arrived at Genkai's. They went inside her temple and found her drinking tea with Yukina. Kuwabara ran over to Yukina.

"Yukina, my sweet!" Kuwabara cried, holding Yukina's hand in his, earning him a weird look from Akiya. "How I have missed you so! You've missed me too, right?"

Akiya looked over to Hiei to see his disgusted expression. She laughed quietly to herself.

_Hiei's has a lot more self control than I thought. Just watching Kuwabara makes me want to knock out his teeth,_ Akiya thought amused.

"What are you doing here?" Genkai asked Yusuke as Akiya went to join them.

"I came to visit a little old lady who lives in a little old cottage," Yusuke joked.

Genkai glared at his comment.

"Okay, okay," Yusuke quickly said, noticing her expression. "We came to tell you to be on guard."

"What for?" Genkai questioned.

"I dunno," Yusuke replied lazily. "Something about him needing you and Yukina or something like that."

"I may be a psychic, but I'm not a telepath," Genkai told Yusuke. "I can't tell who you're talking about when you refer to them as _him_. There are millions of hims in the world. It would be helpful if you identify which _him_ you're talking about."

"Rekujo… or something like that," Yusuke answered.

"Rejuko," Akiya corrected and continued on. "And Koenma didn't say anything about Rejuko needing you or anything. Koenma only told you guys to be on your guard. He said that Rejuko wanted Yukina dead before, so he wanted to make sure that she was safe as well as you since you're with her."

"I see," Genkai replied. "If he's so worried—Hm? Akiya? Akiya!"

"Akiya!" Kurama called worriedly.

"Hey… hey!" Yusuke yelled.

"Akiya!" Kuwabara shouted to her.

"Akiya!" Yukina called, running over to her.

She was motionless and didn't respond. It was as if she had suddenly been frozen in time.

_**-----Akiya-----**_

"_Where am I?" Akiya asked out loud, her voice echoing slightly._

_She was surrounded by nothing but whiteness. It was completely empty, and it seemed as if she were floating in nothingness._

"_Hello," said a familiar voice._

_**That voice! **Akiya thought. "Where am I!" she demanded. _

"_Why, we're inside a void in your mind," he answered as if it should've been the most obvious thing in the world. _

"_What do you want!" she demanded again._

"_I just want to talk," he answered. "You can relax." When Akiya didn't reply, he continued. "As you now know, you are the light talisman. I need you to come with me so I can accomplish my task."_

"_And you think that I'll just hand myself over to you?" Akiya asked. _

"_No," he answered. "But I decided to give it a try. I'll be nice enough not to issue the attack that I have been planning if you cooperate and come along. If you don't want to come with me, I'll just have to take you by force. Which one will it be?"_

"_I think I'll go with the second choice," she said with a hint of mockery in her voice. _

"_I'm getting tired of the lack of respect that I get from you," he said annoyed. _

_Rejuko performed hand seals, alarming Akiya. The white space around them began to change. She saw two girls who looked familiar, and two women that she didn't recognize. _

_Suddenly, Rejuko became transparent; then he completely disappeared. The once white space around Akiya began to grow dark. She looked around and saw the four ladies that she saw earlier, right before Rejuko had disappeared. They were all in a huge tank which was sealed shut. Water suddenly started pouring in. In a matter of minutes, the tank was full of water. The four people trapped inside were banging on the tank with their hands, trying to break free, but they couldn't. They were suffocating. If Akiya didn't do something, they were going to die!_

_Akiya ran over to the tank and tried to perform a technique. She did the seals necessary, but nothing was happening. She tried again, and again. Knowing that she didn't have much time, she tackled the tank, punched it, and did everything she could without the help of her techniques, her spirit energy, or her weapons. _

"_No dammit!" she shouted. _

_The water lever started to lower unexpectedly, but only by about three inches. That gave enough room for them to surface and breath. Akiya felt hot suddenly. She looked closer at the tank and noticed the water inside starting to bubble._

"_No!" she shouted. _

_Akiya pounded her hands on the glass desperately. She could here the water boiling, and the four people inside screaming hysterically. She looked up and them and saw their flesh burned… they were going to be boiled alive! And the worst part was, there was nothing she could do to help._

_Whispers filled her head of how she let them die. She also heard names, most likely, the ones that belong to those four._

_**Keiko… Shizuru… Atsuko… Shiori… **_

_She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, wishing that the whispering would go away. The four names wouldn't stop, but then a new name came up, one that belonged to someone she was quite familiar with._

… _**Yukina…**_

_Akiya opened her eyes again. The moment she did that, she wished that she hadn't. Yukina was right in front of her, scorched. Her skin was burnt crisp. It was practically falling off of her in pieces._

**_Someone… someone get me out of here!_ **_Akiya thought.** Anyone! Just help me!**_

_**-----Meanwhile-----**_

Hiei was getting annoyed with everyone calling her name over and over again uselessly. To be truthful, he was a little worried, a little. She had been unresponsive for quite some time, just sitting there motionlessly with her eyes opened and a blank expression on her face. After a couple more minutes, Hiei shoved everyone out of the way. He grabbed Akiya roughly by her shirt and punched her hard across the face.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara cried. "You can't hit girls!"

Akiya snapped back to reality and blinked a couple times. She turned face to face Hiei who let go of her shirt.

"Akiya!" Genkai yelled as she ran over to her. Akiya was trembling, her eyes wide from what she had witnessed in her mind.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Yusuke asked.

"What happened Akiya?" Kurama asked as well.

Yukina and Kuwabara ran over to join everyone.

"K-Kei-ko," she said slowly, taking in deep breaths, gaining everyone's full attention. She went quiet.

"What!" Yusuke demanded, grabbing her shirt. "What about Keiko!"

"Hey, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted, pulling Yusuke's hand from Akiya's shirt.

"Calm down Yusuke!" Genkai ordered as she turned back to Akiya. "What happened? Akiya! Look at me and tell me what happened!"

"Who are they? Keiko... Shizuru… Atsuko… Shiori… who are they Genkai?" she asked quietly.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Who are they?" she asked again.

"Keiko's my friend, and Atsuko's my mom," Yusuke answered.

"Yeah, and Shizuru's my sis," Kuwabara replied.

"Shiori is my human mother," Kurama said.

_It all makes sense!_ Akiya thought. "We have to get them," she said. "I think that Rejuko has his eye on them."

"How would you know?" Yusuke asked, not liking the sound of it.

"Let's just say… it's a bad feeling," she replied.

Just as she finished saying that, Botan came on her oar with a panicked look on her face.

"Yusuke, Spirit World's in trouble!" she shouted as she ran over to them.

"What happened!" Kuwabara asked.

"It's being attacked!" Botan shouted again.

"What!" Kurama asked shocked. "How could that happen!"

"I don't know, but if we don't hurry, then their going to overrun the palace and Koenma will be…!" she trailed off.

"Damn!" Akiya cursed. "Rejuko's behind this! That bastard!"

"We have to go now!" Botan yelled desperately.

"I'll come with you all," Genkai said.

She summoned a portal for everyone to go through.

At the Palace in Spirit World-----

"Dammit!" Koenma cursed. "Where the hell are they!"

George, his ogre, was beside Koenma, trembling in fear. There were many other ogres barricading the door and trying not to let their enemies in. Koenma knew that they wouldn't be able to hold much longer. After all, those ogres were pretty weak, or so to say. Sure enough, the door blew open, knocking back all of the ogres. The enemies jumped at Koenma, ready to kill him. Koenma squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the attack.

"Koenma-sama!" George yelled.

Koenma opened slowly opened his eyes seeing as the attack he braced for never came. In front of him, were the Spirit Detectives.

"Guys!" Koenma shouted relieved. "What the hell took you so long!"

"Would you have preferred us coming in a little later?" Yusuke asked. "That would've taken care of your complaining."

"What's up with all of these guys?" Kuwabara asked.

"I don't know," Koenma replied. "They just suddenly attacked here!"

"This is insane!" Kurama said as he lashed his Rose Whip out, killing some opposing enemies.

"There must be hundreds of them," Hiei stated.

"Hurry! Get rid of them!" Koenma ordered.

"Then stop talking!" Hiei commanded as he slayed seven of them with one swing of his katana.

Akiya drew her katana and killed everyone she could as Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei did the same. However, they noticed that the more they killed, the more ninja and demons were appearing. They were being outnumbered. At the rate that they were going at, they would run out of strength long before the ambush would be over. Akiya set her katana down beside her, bit her thumb, and performed a series of hand seals. She set her hands face down on the ground.

"Summoning Technique!" she shouted.

There was a poof. When the smoke cleared, there was a large gray/silver wolf in front of her.

"Kitamaru, help us out!" she ordered.

"Right!" Kitamaru answered as he slashed his enemies with his claws and tail.

Despite the fact that he was a wolf, he proved helpful. Akiya picked her katana back up and continued to eliminate the enemies. Even with all of them _and_ Kitamaru's help, there was still way to many enemies to fight. For everyone single opponent they killed, at least three more appeared.

"Ahhh!" came Kuwabara's voice.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted in concern for his best friend. Yusuke turned his attention to Kuwabara's enemies and fired his Spirit Gun at them, saving his friend. This however, left Yusuke defenseless.

"Yusuke you dimwit!" Genkai yelled, firing her Spirit Gun at them.

Everyone was fine, except when they had to worry about whether Kuwabara was still alive or not. Koenma stood back and watched along with George, Botan, and Yukina. He could tell that they weren't going to last if this kept up. But there was nothing he could do. What they needed was more help, the only problem was, there was no more help that he could get. The detectives had been fighting until they were forced to retreat. They all jumped back with Koema and the others. Akiya put up a barrier that protected everyone for the time being. She knew it wouldn't last forever.

"There numbers are far greater than ours," Kurama said. "We won't last much longer like this!"

"I know," Koenam answered.

"Akiya-sama," Kitamaru called. "You don't have much energy left."

"Do you think that any of us have much energy left?" Hiei asked icily. He was getting frustrated with the never ending amount of enemies. Sure he loved to fight. Heck he loved to kill, but this was just ridiculous.

"Kitamaru, are you tired yet?" Akiya asked.

"I'll be fine Akiya-sama," he answered.

"How much longer can you last in a fight like this?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I will last as long as I can. Why do you ask?"

"I can't keep this barrier up much longer… it's draining too much energy."

"Then let it down already," Yusuke said.

"Yeah, we can take em!" Kuwabara said confidently.

"You sure you're all rested?" she asked to make sure.

"Let it down!" Hiei ordered.

Akiya nodded and let the barrier down. As soon as she did, the demons and ninjas all jumped at them. Everyone released their energy and knocked them away. They went in and continued with their killing spree. Suddenly, all of their opponents stopped attacking and cleared a path. Rejuko was the one walking in.

"My, my, still fighting? I'm impressed that you're able to last this long," he complimented. "Not bad."

"Rejuko!" Koenma shouted as everyone, even the detectives, looked at him. "What are you doing! Why are you attacking this place!"

"What? You mean you don't know?" he asked, pretending to be shocked. "Why don't you ask little Akiya that? Why _am_ I attacking Akiya?"

"How the hell should I know!" she asked angrily. "Cuz you're a psychopath!"

"If that's the way you're going to talk, then have fun fighting for your life," he said. With a wave of his hands, the ninjas and demons jumped in to attack. The detectives were caught off guard and weren't able to defend themselves from the position that they were in.

"Shit!" Yusuke cursed.

Kitamaru jumped between the enemies and released a large amount of energy, blasting the enemies away. Everyone except for Akiya jumped in to continue fighting. Akiya checked on Kitamaru.

"Kitamaru! Kitamaru! Are you alright!" she asked worriedly. "Kitamaru!"

"I'm sorry… Akiya-sama…" he answered weakly. "I'm out of energy. You'll have to handle the rest yourself."

"Alright," Akiya said. "Don't worry about me. Go Kitamaru!"

There was a poof and he was gone. Hiei began to power up, getting ready to use his Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Akiya noticed what he was doing and teleported over next to him. She grabbed Hiei's wrist and pulled it to his side.

"What do you you're doing?" she asked seriously.

"Getting rid of our problems," Hiei simply answered.

"With your Dragon of the Darkness Flame?" she asked again. "You can't control that thing!"

"Yes I can!" he argued.

"Not like Hayate-san!"

"How would you know!"

"Because you really _can't_ control that thing!"

"I did in the Dark Tournament! I even absorbed its attack!"

"Just because you managed to get lucky once doesn't mean that you'll get lucky again!" she shouted. "Besides, if you lose control of that thing, we're all dead! Me, you, Yukina! And even if you do absorb its attack, that will exhaust you too must! You'll go into a seven hour hibernation! Then you'll be useless!"

"So what!" Hiei asked. "At least that will take care of these pests!"

"Do you think Rejuko won't be able to stop your attack!"

"Hey lovebirds!" Yusuke called. "You think you guys can stop your damn arguing and start killing instead! It might actually help for a change!"

_Damn! _Akiya thought. _If only the others were here right now… they'd be a lot of help… and with Kitamaru gone now… we don't stand much of a chance at surviving…_

The detectives along with Koenma, Botan, and Yukina were forced back into a corner. They continued to fight them off but they were running out of strength fast. Kuwabara's Spirit Sword was barely even flickering. All Yusuke had to fight with were his fists. Kurama kept lashing everyone away with his Rose Whip but he was getting tired. Hiei seemed okay, but even he couldn't take on that many enemies. As for Akiya, she was using her techniques which were greatly draining her energy. They were running out of strength. Soon, their foes began to overpower them. Suddenly, seven people appeared in front of them and the enemies were blasted away.

"Rejuko!" shouted a familiar voice, one that Akiya knew all too well.

"Guys!" she shouted relieved. It was Hayate and the others, including the children.

Rejuko ordered his men to stop attacking and appeared again.

"Well hello," he greeted. "You people sure like to interrupt my fun."

"Black Flame Tech-!" Hayate shouted after he performed the hand seals, but stopped abruptly.

Rejuko suddenly appeared right in front of Hayate without any warning. Hayate looked up at Rejuko, stunned. He was fast, at least ten times as fast as Hayate, twenty times as fast as Hiei and Akiya. That wasn't a very good thing. Everyone stared at him with nervousness.

"What's wrong?" Rejuko asked Hayate with a hint of mockery in his voice. "Am I too fast? Too strong? Are you shocked? This isn't even my full speed."

Hayate, stunned, didn't respond, but only stared at the person in front of him. Rejuko punched Hayate in the stomach. He flew straight through the wall on the other side of the room and into the wall in the next three rooms, leaving a huge dent behind him. He stayed stuck to the wall for a while, then fell to the ground limp. It left everyone speechless as they stared at Hayate in complete shock. As much as Hiei would hate to admit, he was stunned. Hayate had beaten him with ease back when they fought, and now Hayate was beaten in one hit.

"That was fun," Rejuko said. "Since I'm in a good mood, I come back in… let's say… a week. Be stronger by then, all of you. I feel bad beating up dolls."

With that, he disappeared. Akiya was the first to snap back to reality.

"Hayate-san!" she shouted in concern as she ran to check on him.

**-----Next Chapter's Preview-----**

Run Away Forever Chapter 14- Train Hard! They're Attacking Again!

Akiya goes back with Hayate and the others to train with them. Yusuke and the gang also train as well. How much stronger will they be when Rejuko attacks again? And where's Akiya and her group? With their new strengths, will they be able to at least land a hit on Rejuko this time? Also, what does Hayate talk to Akiya about?


	14. Train Hard! They're Attacking Again!

**dna**- i am soooooooo sorry that this chapter took so long! i was busy and stressed over a lot of stuff. also, my friend **coshi** and i are writing a furuba fanfic together so that sorta uh...sorry... it was harder than we thought so she and i spent quite a bit of time on it and we're not even halfway through the story... anyway, like i said, i am sooooooooooooo sorry! please feel free to scold me all you want! i promise that i will try to update as soon as possible! i hope u enjoy this chap then ppl! and im sorry!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 14- Train Hard! They're Attacking Again!**

"So you're going back with them?" Yusuke asked as Keta was tending to Hayate's wounds.

"Yeah," Akiya replied. "Rejuko is strong… I have to train to become stronger…"

"We understand," Kurama said.

"I'll be back soon though," Akiya told them. "It's only for a week anyway."

Koenma opened a portal for Akiya and the others to go through.

"I have training for all of you," Genkai announced to the detectives. "Come with me to my temple."

"What!" Yusuke and Kuwabara both exclaimed.

"Do you think that you'll stand a chance against that man when he comes back!" Genkai asked. "You all were being beaten by his men! He didn't even have to fight you!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara kept quiet. They both knew that what Genkai said was true. Hiei gave a "hn" and turned around to walk out the door.

"And where are you going?" Genkai asked. "Do you think that you're an exception? You need training as well."

"Not with you I don't," Hiei said coldly, and continued to walk out of Koenma's office.

Genkai didn't bother to stop him, and neither did anyone else. Koenma was frustrated. Rejuko _actually_ attacked the palace itself. No one in Spirit World history had ever done that before, no one.

­-----Akiya and the Others-----

They were in an opened field surrounded by a forest.

_**-----Flashback-----**_

"_Go to the middle of the forest to the open field," Imaru told them. "There is an invisible tunnel somewhere there. Find it, and go through it."_

"_If it's invisible, then how are we supposed to find it Imaru-sama?" Kohira asked. _

"_Use your spirit energy to find it," he answered. "You have to use your mind and concentrate. It's not going to be easy, but it will make you stronger." He paused. "No one except the leaders of the village has never even attempted to find the tunnel and go through it. It is extremely dangerous, and it can **kill** you if you're not strong enough…"_

"_Sir," Hiro said. "Tell me… is that the same tunnel that Rejuko had gone through?"_

_Everyone looked at him confused, then they looked back at Imaru for an answer. He didn't answer. He only stared straight ahead intensely. _

"_Yes… he was the only one…" he finally answered._

_**-----End Flashback-----**_

The field was huge. It went on for miles and miles in all directions.

"We should get started," Jiruma said. Imaru had sent her with them.

"We don't take orders form you," Hayate said coldly. "As long as you're with us, you'll have to do things the way we do them. Hiro is the leader. If you have a problem, then run back to the old man."

"Hayate, leave her alone," Hiro told him. "She's a part of our group now. We treat her as one of our own."

"What do you mean one of your own?" Jiruma asked curiously. "I've always been one of you guys."

"Wrong," Akiya said. "It's always been just the eight of us. No one else. And it's still just the eight of us."

"You can stick around and it won't change a thing," Keta agreed.

"Because I'm his assistant?" Jiruma asked, sounding a bit hurt. "Or is it just me?"

"Don't take it the wrong way," Hiro quickly said. "It's just that… well… we're just our own little group. It's always been us. We've been through everything together and… let's just say that this is the way we want to stay. It's not because of you. We've always been alone, so we've learned to depend on just each other… and we're not all that much welcoming to newcomers. That goes for everyone, not just you, so don't worry about it."

"So you don't trust me?" she asked.

No one answered.

"We've never trusted anyone," Akiya replied after a while, surprising Jiruma. "We can't. That's all." She then turned to her friends. "Shall we go?"

They all nodded and started to search for the tunnel. Jiruma too, helped them look for the tunnel after a while.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama-----

They were all at Genkai's temple, training to get stronger. Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun again.

"Can you do _anything_ right you dimwit!" Genkai shouted at him. "I told you to push your Spirit Gun forward, not for it to push you back! Do it again!"

"God dammit, old witch!" Yusuke complained as he gathered energy to his index finger. "I'm gonna be dead before I get this right!"

"Haha! You wimp!" Kuwabara teased.

"Kuwabara! Concentrate!" Genkai ordered.

Kuwabara snapped around without any arguments.

"Your Spirit Sword is barely even flickering!" Genkai shouted at him. "Concentrate and put more energy into it and maybe it'll actually do some damage!"

"How much more energy do you want me to put into this thing!" Kuwabara asked, pouring even more energy into the already brightly glowing sword.

"And you, Kurama," Genkai said. "You're a lot weaker than Yoko since this is your human form, so work on putting more energy into your attacks, and work on your speed a bit. When you use your plant attacks, try to make them stronger. I'm not going to ask you to make them as strong as Yoko's was, but they definitely need to be more powerful. And learn some new attacks and maneuvers with that thing that you call a brain!"

Kurama nodded in response, ignoring Genkai's insult, as he got his rose out.

"Fire your Spirit Gun Yusuke!" Genkai ordered. "And make sure that you push your energy with more force! Kuwabara, I want you to knock it away!"

"Bossy old hag!" Yusuke shouted as he fired his attack. "Spirit Gun!"

"Spirit Sword!" Kuwabara shouted, swinging his sword down into Yusuke's Spirit Gun.

Akiya and the Others----- Night-----

"What the hell," Hiro said quietly, sounding tired. "We've searched all day yet…"

"We have no idea where that tunnel is…" Kohira finished.

"How are we supposed to sense something that's not there Akiya Nee-chan?" Mika asked.

"I dunno," Akiya answered quietly. "I dunno…"

"Are you okay?" Katsu asked Akiya. She seemed exhausted.

"I'm fine."

"Akiya Nee-chan," Yomi called. "Hayate-sama… he's gone."

Akiya looked up and looked around. So did everyone else. Yomi was right. Hayate was nowhere in sight.

"Did he find the tunnel maybe?" Kohira considered.

"Then why didn't he say anything?" Jiruma asked as everyone turned to stare at her, making her feel out of place and uncomfortable. "I guess it doesn't matter what I think. It's none of my business anyway…"

_She feels out of place…_ Akiya thought. "It's not that Jiruma-san. We're just stressed. Your thoughts count as much as ours. Please try not to feel uncomfortable around us."

_How?_ Jiruma asked herself. _They're acting like I'm not even there. How am I supposed to feel comfortable around people who refuse to accept me?_ Jiruma's eyes widened at her own thought. _Akiya-san… was this how you always felt when you were at the village? Is that why you only trust them? Hiro-san and the others that is? Is that why you can understand me right now? Akiya…_

"We have to look for Hayate," Keta told everyone as she began searching for him.

Hiei-----

"What are you?" asked a familiar voice. "A ninja? You're always hanging out in the forests."

Hiei spun around to face Hayate.

"Why are you here?" Hiei asked suspiciously.

He didn't answer him. Hiei waited patiently. After a while, he decided to take off. He teleported away but Hayate cut him off, surprising Hiei slightly though he didn't show it, Hiei merely growled in irritation.

"You need to learn how to control the dragon," Hayate said. "And you need to learn how to use a more powerful attack than that."

"You're going to train_ me_?" Hiei asked amused.

"Yes," he answered calmly.

"I'd rather pick tulips and daisies."

"Then go ahead," Hayate dared, knowing that Hiei wouldn't do that to save his life.

"As soon as you make out with your mother," Hiei countered and turned around to leave.

But Hayate grabbed Hiei's wrist and turned him around to face him.

"What the hell's your problem!" he asked. "I know we got off on a bad start, and I know that I haven't exactly been all that great to you either, but can't you tell when you need to stop acting childish! We're dealing with a powerful enemy, and if you're satisfied with getting your ass kicked, then fine! But remember, I don't need to waste my time to help you!"

"Why do you care so much?" Hiei asked, still suspicious. "I never asked for your help!"

"I'm doing this because I want to! I want you to get stronger!

"What?" Hiei asked, surprised at what he just heard.

"I said I want you to get stronger," he repeated.

"Why…?"

After a while, he finally replied, "Because… let's just say… I won't always be able to protect Akiya… and I need someone I can trust to protect her… and I need someone who can stop me… to bluntly put it… I'm trusting you with my life, and with hers."

Hiei looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything.

"Now, power up!" Hayate commanded.

Akiya and the Others-----

"Where could he have gone?" wondered Kohira.

They had been searching for him for a good two hours now, and he was still nowhere in sight. Everyone continued to search for him except for Akiya.

"Akiya?" Keta called. "Something wrong?"

"Let's look for the tunnel," she suggested.

"But what about Hayate?" Kohira asked confused.

"I think Akiya's right," Hiro agreed. "Let's look for the tunnel instead. I'm sure Hayate will be back."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement to their leader's order.

"Let's try a different method this time," Hiro said. "Let's try forcing it out."

"How Hiro-sama?" Mika asked.

"We'll have to blast every inch of this place with our energy. I think that we should do it a little at a time."

Everyone nodded and separated but stayed near each other and continued to find the tunnel.

Four Days Later----- Hiei and Hayate-----

"That's it?" Hiei asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm done here. I have to go back to do some more training with the others."

"There are only two more days left," Hiei pointed out.

"So?" Hayate asked. "I've spent five days training you. Now I have to spend some time to train on my own. Use the rest of this day and tomorrow to practice what I've taught you, but remember, don't overdo it. It takes up a lot of energy so be careful, otherwise, you'll be just as useless as before."

Before Hiei could get him for insulting him, Hayate left to go back to the others.

Akiya and the Others-----

"We… only have… two more days… left… to find the stupid tunnel… and get through it…" Akiya said between deep breaths. They had checked the whole field three times and tried many other methods that were energy consuming only to fail every time.

"Where's Hayate… when you need him?" Kohira asked, also out of breath just like everyone else.

"Right behind you," he answered in a-matter-of-factly kind of tone.

"About time," Hiro said.

"You always disappear when we need your brains more than you're arrogance," Kohira muttered.

"Couldn't she figure something out?" Hayate asked, indicating Keta.

"Apparently, no," Hiro replied.

"Amateurs," he mumbled.

"Well, we tried to force it out and it didn't work," Kohira said.

Hayate looked at Hiro. "You should know better," he told him. "You have to feel it, not force it out."

He slowly closed his eyes as everyone except Jiruma did the same. They concentrated on finding the tunnel. Nothing… Jiruma didn't get what the point of doing this was. It wasn't like the tunnel was just going to appear in front of them.

Hayate opened his eyes. Soon, so did everyone else.

"Feel that?" he asked quietly.

"How did we miss it?" Keta wondered.

"Such a strong feeling…" Akiya said.

"Let's go," Hiro said as they all walked to towards the strong feeling. Jiruma followed them, not seeing how just closing their eyes and concentrating would've helped them to find the tunnel.

Everyone suddenly stopped.

"Why are we stopping here?" Jiruma asked.

"Cuz this is where the tunnel is," Akiya replied.

"What?" she asked again, surprised. There was noting in front of them except grass.

"If you did what we did, you would've been able to feel it too Jiruma-sama," Yomi told her.

"Dispel!" everyone shouted together.

Nothing happened. Then a voice suddenly spoke to them. It seemed as if it were coming from the sky.

"Show me you sign," it commanded. "Your sign will allow you into the tunnel."

"What sign?" Hiro asked it.

"Your sign!" it repeated.

"What kind of sign?" Hiro asked again, hoping to get a more useful answer.

"Your sign!" it repeated yet again.

"Forget it," Hayate said. "Don't bother asking that thing. We're not gonna get anything else outta him."

"So… what kind of sign do we have?" Kohira asked everyone's question out loud.

"Maybe our village symbol?" Jiruma suggested.

"No, I don't think so," Keta replied. "If it wanted our village symbol, than it should've let us into the tunnel already because we all have the village symbol on the back of our shirts."

Everyone went silent and tried to think of what kind of sign they could've had. Akiya closed her eyes. She was stressed.

_What kind of sign does it want? And why do they want a sign from us? What's the point? _

_**-----Flashback-----**_

"_A good ninja is not only strong, but is wise as well. If a ninja cannot use his head in a dangerous and life threatening situation, then they are a worthless ninja." Akiro told her._

_**-----End Flashback-----**_

"_That's_ the point," she said to herself. "_That's_ why it won't let us in unless we can figure this out."

"Akiya?" Keta asked.

"It's testing us," she replied. "Akiro-sensei once told me that a good ninja is smart and strong; that a worthless ninja is one that can't use his head in a situation that is dangerous."

"What are you talking about?" Jiruma asked.

"I see," Keta said. "It will only let us through the tunnel if we are wise enough, because we've already proven half of our strength by finding the location of the tunnel."

"Half?" Yomi asked.

"Yes, half. We've proven how strong we are mentally. If we can figure out what it wants to see, then we've proven how wise we are. So if we get through the tunnel, we'll be proving how strong we are physically," Jiruma answered.

"Actually, finding the tunnel strengthens your spiritual awareness," Hiro corrected. "The tunnel itself is going to test our strength all together whether it's mentally _or_ physically."

"Akiya Nee-san," Mika called. "What about our birth sign?"

Everyone's attention turned to Mika.

"Birth sign?" Kohira questioned.

Everyone's eyes widened. Mika was right!

"That's it!" everyone shouted.

"Each one of us has a birth sign. All we have to do is show it to it," Hiro said.

"How?" Jiruma asked.

"Like this," Hayate replied as he put up the hand seal that stood for dragon. "Dragon!"

In less than a second, Hayate was gone.

"Tiger!" Hiro and Kohira both shouted, putting up the hand seal that stood for the tiger.

Keta went next. "Rabbit!"

"Dragon!" Akiya yelled.

"Ox!" Mika shouted.

"We're next," Yomi said to Katsu.

"Mouse!" the two young boys shouted together.

Jiruma stepped forward and put up the hand seal that represented to mouse. "Boar!" she shouted as well.

Everyone was now inside the tunnel.

In the Tunnel-----

"Akiya Nee-san, what _is _this place?" Mika asked.

"This is… inside the tunnel but…" Akiya trailed off.

"I- I can't move," Yomi said, sounding nervous.

"None of us can," Keta informed.

They seemed as if they were floating in space, except that it wasn't black. There wasn't a way to describe where they were. It just looked like all the colors in the world were mashed together and were constantly moving in weird and unusual motions.

"My spirit energy!" Kohira said alarmed.

"Mine too," Akiya agreed calmly.

It was as if their energy was being drained away. Suddenly, what seemed like spirits appeared around them.

"If you wish to leave here alive, then you must survive this course, otherwise, leave immediately! What is your choice?" the voice asked.

"We're not leaving!" Hiro answered confidently.

"Very well!"

"Wait!" Jiruma shouted. "How are we supposed to move in this place?"

"That is for you to find out!"

"And if we can't?" Keta asked calmly.

"Then this will be your grave!"

The spirits closed in on them and the ninjas were still unable to move.

"Shit!" Hayate cursed to himself. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I refuse to die in this damn oblivion! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

Hayate released as much energy as he could while being restrained by the strange force of where they were, and it worked! However, the only thing was, he had to keep up that level of energy or else he would be paralyzed again.

"Hm? Figures… other than Akiya, you're the youngest one here yet you seem to be the best ninja out of the nine of us… even though you're the least experienced…" Hiro said as he did the same as Hayate. Everyone followed in turn.

"I sure as hell hope that our techniques will work in here!" Hayate said as he began to perform hand seals.

Two Days Later At the Spirit World Palace-----

The four detectives and Genkai were in Koenma's office along with Koenma, Botan, Ayame, and George.

"Let's meet them at the front gate," Koenma suggested.

As soon as he said that though, the doors to his office burst opened. As promised by Rejuko, the second attack on the palace was about to begin. The four detectives stepped in front of Koenma, George, and the two girls.

The crowd of demons and ninjas cleared a path for a familiar ninja. He looked around.

"Awwww, where's Akiya and the others?" he asked, pretending to whine. "It's no fun storming a castle when there's only an old hagged up woman and four teenagers to protect it."

"Unfortunately, they're running late," Yusuke answered in his slightly sarcastic tone. "But we'll manage just fine. You don't have to worry about _that_, cuz this time, it's your ass that gonna get kicked!"

"Yeah! After all that stuff Genkai put us through, there's no way in hell that we'll be able to lose!" Kuwabara agreed, being careful not to call Genkai a 'grandma' or an 'old hag'.

_Hn! They don't understand **anything**! That training was only to prepare them for the least!_ Genkai thought.

"Hmmm… interesting," Rejuko commented. "I would like to test out this new strength that you speak of. Show me!"

With a wave of his hand, the demons charged in for an attack…

Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 15- Mission Accomplished!

What awaits the ninjas who are still in that odd tunnel? Will they get out in time to help the Spirit Detectives, or will the detectives have to try to hold up on their own? With all of their new gained strength, will they be able to at least land a hit on Rejuko this time? However, it seems that defeating the detectives and the ninjas isn't Rejuko's intention. And it seems that they have all forgotten about the girls that are in the Ningenkai… who are now hostages of the insanely powerful ninja…


	15. Mission Accomplished

**dna-** ok... i know i said that i would update soon, but... i was sick for a week, and i had writer's block on this one and my fruits basket one... i am soooooooo sorry! for people who also read my fruits basket fanfic, i will update on that soon! i promise!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 15- Mission Accomplished**

"Mika!" Akiya shouted as she ran over to her.

She grabbed Mika and jumped out of the way just before the spirit was able to reach her. Akiya jumped to join the other children. They were exhausted. After all, this place was energy consuming. Not only do they have to survive in this unnatural world, but they have to fight these unusual things that they assumed were spirits, and they have to keep a constant high energy level so that they can move. And on top of that, only a strong spiritual attack will destroy those spirits.

"Why is our energy dissipating so fast?" Kohira asked as she performed another energy consuming technique to destroy _two_ of those spirits.

"It's this place!" Keta replied while performing a technique against her enemies. "We have to keep releasing our energy to move, we have to use up a lot of our energy to use our techniques, and despite all that, this place is sucking our energy!"

"We won't survive like this!" Jiruma told them, as if they already didn't know that fact.

Akiya turned to Katsu and Yomi.

"C'mon," she said. "Let's go join the others."

-----Spirit World-----

The enemies charged at the detectives and Genkai, just like the last ambush. With a single hit from Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Genkai, all the demons and ninjas in the front were knocked back.

"I told you that we were stronger this time, didn't I?" Yusuke asked confidently.

Rejuko chuckled. "Very impressive. In just one week, you were able to grow that much stronger. I guess now I have to bring out some of the stronger ones."

With a small flick of his finger, he blasted away and killed all of his men. Everyone was surprised. How could he kill off all of his men without hesitating a single bit? No matter how weak they were, they were still his men.

"You bastard!" Kuwabara shouted. "How could you do that to your own men!"

Rejuko just smirked as a new group of enemies came forward.

-----In the Tunnel-----

"Akiya!" Keta shouted as she quickly pulled her away from another attack.

"Akiya Nee-san!" Mika shouted, now perfectly fine.

"Focus on fighting Mika!" Keta ordered. "Don't worry about Akiya!"

Mika nodded obediently and turned her attention back on the fight.

"Akiya!" she shouted. "Are you alright?"

"They hurt…" she said clutching her stomach. "When those things touch you… it feels like a hand ripping into your body and out the other side… and it makes your whole body feel completely limp…"

"Enough with this!" Hayate shouted as Keta helped Akiya up. Everyone regrouped together. "What the hell are you trying to see by making us fight this ridiculous battle you bastard!"

"… Prove to me! Prove to me that you all are worthy of power! Prove to me that you all are ninjas!" the voice shouted. "Show me you know the way of the shinobi… their codes… their ways! If you can't do that, then you all can die in this nothingness!"

"The way of the ninja?" Akiya repeated. "Why you!"

"Akiya!" Hiro yelled as he went over to her. "Calm down!"

"W-what's wrong?" Yomi asked worriedly.

"Akiya Nee-san?" Mika called quietly. "Are you okay? Katsu, what's wrong with Akiya Nee-san!"

"I don't know!" he answered in concern as he went to join the rest.

"That bastard!" Akiya shouted. "_The way of the ninja.'_ It wants us to follow the damn code! It wants us to stop helping each other! That thing wants us to fight each man for himself!"

The three children's eyes widened. Hiro, Keta, Kohira, Hayate, and Jiruma already knew what it had meant by that.

"Katsu!" Hiro shouted as he ran and tackled Katsu out of the way, saving him from an attack.

Hiro was floating beside Katsu.

"Hiro-sama, thank you!" Katsu replied gratefully.

"Not to be an ass, but can we sulk later?" Hayate asked in a half sarcastic tone. "I think we should do a better job of fighting for our lives right now!"

"Thanks for being so optimistic!" Hiro commented sarcastically as he used one of his lightning techniques to defeat one of the spirits.

-----Spirit World-----

Genkai shot her Spirit Gun at the group of demons and ninjas that jumped towards Koenma, Botan, and George. Rejuko stood leaning against the wall, watching the entertainment that the detectives were providing. He smirked.

_Let's see just how long this new power will last until Akiya's little group gets here._

Rejuko moved his head to the side, easily dodging the body that Yusuke purposely punched over that way.

"Yeah, that's right!" Yusuke shouted. "Keep sittin there with that damn smirk on your face and the next one'll send ya crashin through the wall!"

-----Akiya and Others-----

Everyone was fighting for themselves even though it made them feel greatly uncomfortable. Their energy was draining fast and it was getting harder and harder to move every second. The children were almost out of energy. Akiya constantly glanced over in their direction. Not focusing as much on her battle, she was hit by two of the spirits. She let out a small cry and hugged herself tightly. Everyone quickly glanced over to Akiya in concern. Hayate, seeing more of those spirits heading towards Akiya, blasted his enemies away and ran towards her. However, he was stopped. Someone grabbed onto his arm and held him back.

"No Hayate!" Jiruma yelled. "We have to follow the code! You can't help-"

"Bullshit!" Hayate shouted, cutting her off. "Enough is enough!"

He easily pulled his arm out of Jiruma's grip and defeated the spirits that were about to attack her. Jiruma stood in shock. She turned to Hiro.

"Hiro-san! Please, tell him to stop!" she cried. "If he keeps helping her, then we'll never get out of here! Saving one life isn't worth risking the lives of everyone else here! Hiro-san!"

Hiro destroyed the spirits that he was fighting and turned to Jiruma with an angered expression. Hiro raised his hand and smacked her hard across the face. Jiruma gasped and turned back around to look at Hiro. Keta, Kohira, Mika, Katsu, and Yomi retreated and joined Hiro and Jiruma. Hayate soon came over with Akiya slumped in his arm. Hiro, Keta, Kohira, and Hayate let out some of their remaining energy to form a light barrier around them. Everyone turned to glare at Jiruma. They all heard what she had said.

"You piece of shit!" Hiro said angrily.

Jiruma looked at him, shock apparent on her face. She had never heard him talk like that to her or his friends before.

"Selfish son of a bitch!" Hayate said furiously as he tried not to punch her.

"How the hell did you ever become a ninja!" Keta asked.

"I've never heard something so goddamn disgusting in my life!" Kohira replied angrily.

"But… we won't be able to leave here…" Jiruma said weakly. "It told us not to help each other… if we wanted to get out of here…"

"So you think getting out of here is more important than Akiya's life!" Katsu asked.

"Jiruma-sama, what you said before… that was sickening!" Mika shouted. "How could you say such a thing!"

"You're heartless!" Yomi yelled.

"I guess we shouldn't have expected less from a woman that works for Imaru!" Katsu yelled.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Jiruma shouted. "I don't understand!"

"_Saving one life isn't worth risking the lives of everyone else here…_ isn't that what you said?" Hiro asked, looking Jiruma right in the eyes.

"We're a team!" she yelled. "I want us to get out alive together!"

"Without Akiya, there isn't a team!" Hiro roared.

"Who the hell said you were a part of this team in the first place!" Hayate asked harshly.

"I've been a part of this team!" Jiruma shouted.

"Then tell me something…" Keta said sternly, looking her in the eye. "What does it mean to be a team!"

Jiruma stayed silent.

"Well, since you can't answer a question that simple… then why are you here?" Keta asked. "Why are you in this protective barrier with us, since it's meant to protect us as a team?"

No reply.

"You have no idea how much we'd love to kick you out," Hiro said.

"But fortunately for you, that kind of bullshit… disappoints Akiya," Hayate said. "Isn't that right, Akiya? I know you're feeling well enough to kick some more ass. I'm not stupid. You're body weight has become lighter."

Akiya looked up and smiled weakly. Jiruma looked shocked at Akiya.

"Then… you heard what I said? This whole conversation?"

"Yeah, I was barely conscious, but I wasn't that out," Akiya replied with a smile.

"… I don't understand you…" she said, confusing Akiya. "You heard everything I said… how can you stand to look at me let alone smile? How can you not hate me for what I've said?"

"Jiruma… you idiot…"

"Huh?"

"As long as this barrier is willing to protect all of us, we're a team. Teammates don't hold grudges on other teammates. I'm not angry at you. Now, let's get the hell outta here!"

Akiya stepped jumped out of the barrier and continued to fight.

"For some odd reason, I feel completely recharged," Kohira said with a smile.

"What a girl…" Keta spoke quietly. "She always keeps us together when we're falling apart."

"She should've been the one to lead this team," Hiro said, smiling as well though he looked a bit sad. "I'm not fit for the position."

"No, if you weren't, she would've said so," Hayate said. "She's not the type to just shut up about things she can make better."

"Sorry…" Jiruma apologized. "What I said before was out of place."

"Sorry for what?" Hiro asked. "As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing you need to be sorry about. Now, let kick some ass!"

They all let down the barrier as everyone except the three children joined Akiya.

"Akiya Nee-san is amazing!" Mika said.

"Yeah!" Yomi agreed.

"Let's go help her!" Katsu suggested as they all nodded and joined Akiya.

_That girl… she has potential…_ Hayate thought as he was fighting. _She could be stronger than me… maybe she already is…_

The ninjas continued fighting, but this time, they were helping each other. All of a sudden, the spirits stopped attacking and slowly disappeared.

"You all must have a strong death wish!" the voice shouted. "I said to show me the way of the ninjas and their codes, not to show me how you disgrace yourselves! I will give you all one more chance to show me the shinobi way! Otherwise, prepare for your punishment! Which will it be?"

"We don't need a second chance at showing you the way of the ninja!" Akiya argued.

"We've already showed you," Hayate said calmly, helping Akiya. "This is how _we_ do things. This is _our_ shinobi way."

"If you gotta problem with that, then get your ass down here," Hiro commanded. "We'll take your punishment head on! There's no one here that'll run away. We're all getting through this tunnel together. No one is going to get left behind!"

"We've come too far to get killed now! Get your ass down here and give us your damn punishment!" Keta shouted.

Silence. There was no reply. Then, all of a sudden, everyone was pulled down and slammed into a hard, invisible surface.

"What's going on?" Yomi asked as he and everyone else tried to get up.

"The gravity… is pulling us down…!" Kohira answered, falling back on the transparent surface.

"Give up!" the voice ordered.

"No!" Mika shouted.

"Quiet! Children such as yourselves shouldn't have even attempted coming into this tunnel. You do not understand the anything about the world! All of you! You all think it's unfair because you don't get your way all the time. There is more to it than that! I already made my mistake by giving Rejuko power! I won't repeat the same mistake twice! You all are just the same as him! You all want power to satisfy your own selfish wishes, claiming that you are using the power for good and for other people!"

"That's not true!" Akiya shouted.

"Silence!" it ordered. The gravity pulled them down even more.

"No!" Hayate shouted. "_You_ shut the hell up! You've been running your goddamn mouth for five whole minutes! Just because we only appear as kids, don't think that we have selfish childish wishes!"

"We understand more than you could ever imagine!" Kohira yelled.

"You think we don't know how fucked up this world is?" Hiro asked calmly as he struggled to his feet, everyone else doing the same. "We've been in the center of it all for as long as we can remember. We're tired of standing around and watching all this shit go by! We want to do something about it!"

"You would only be benefiting yourselves! I was right!" the voice shouted.

"You're the one who doesn't understand anything!" Katsu yelled angrily. "Just because we're kids, don't think that don't give what goes on around us! Don't think that all of this crap doesn't affect us as well!"

"We get everything that's going on!" Yomi yelled, just as angry as Katsu. "We have people we want to protect! We understand the pain that everyone feels! Don't think we don't know how to feel!"

"_We're just children, so we're powerless against these things. There's nothing we can do to change the way the world is spinning._ That's what I used to think," Mika said. "So many horrible things are happening right before our eyes. We have the power to change all of that… we can _get_ the power to change all of that, but we just chose not to… and when we finally chose to do something about it… when we _finally_ pull up the courage… you're gonna just throw all of it back in our faces…"

"You said before that we're just children, but because we're young, this stuff hits us twice as hard…" Akiya said quietly. "Because we're so young and naïve, we can't just sit around and play it cool like adults. We can't just sit around and just hope that everything turns out okay. We're still young, so we can still do something about all of this. Please, give us the chance!"

"Prove yourselves worthy first!"

"We don't have time for that!" Keta shouted. "Akiya's friends are facing Rejuko right now! We don't need to prove ourselves worthy again. Give us the power we need, NOW!"

"For years we've waited," Jiruma spoke for the first time. "We've waited to make a difference! We need your power in order to make that happen, not only for us, but for everyone else!"

Nothing happened.

"If your not gonna give us what we want, then let us out of here!" Hayate shouted. "We have better things to do!"

"I know you wanted us to die in there," Akiya said as everyone looked surprised. "But there are things that we still need to do! There are people we need to protect. There are promises we need to keep. We can't die like you wanted us to! I know that the test was supposed to kill us, but it didn't. Doesn't that prove that we're desperate?"

No reply.

"You made a mistake that we can fix!"

Their surroundings changed suddenly. They were back in the open field where they found the tunnel.

"W-we're back…" Kohira stated.

Their bodies started to glow a bright blue color. They could feel an enormous amount of energy surging through them.

"Make good use of this power. If you do not, I will hunt you down myself."

"We owe you one… thanks," Hiro said.

"Now, let's get to Spirit World!" Kohira replied.

-----Spirit World-----

_Hmmm… Akiya and the others still aren't here?_ Rejuko asked himself.

"There are way too many of em Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted. "We can't handle this on our own!"

Yusuke blasted a demons head off and shot his Spirit Gun at another enemy. "Unless you want your head smashed like a watermelon, shut the hell up!"

"But Kuwabara is right Yusuke," Kurama said to him as he lashed his rose whip out, killing a few more demons.

"God dammit, where the hell are they!" Yusuke asked.

"They got scared and ran away," Hiei sarcastically said.

"She'll be here," Genkai assured. "Akiya's not the type of person to let her friends down!"

"Yeah but," Yusuke shot another Spirit Gun, "does she even consider us as her friends!"

"Say that again and it'll be _your_ head smashed like a damn watermelon!" she threatened.

"Bitch…" Yusuke muttered. "WHOA!"

Yusuke quickly jumped off of the ground as Kuwabara swung his Spirit Sword aimlessly.

"Watch it! You coulda cut off my legs dammit!" Yusuke shouted.

"My bad!" Kuwabara apologized. "Your life's not the only one that matters dammit!"

"Yusuke, turn around!" Kurama warned.

Kurama turned back around and took a few steps back in surprise when the ninja in front of him was cut in half. Hiei glanced at the others quickly to make sure that they were fine before he returned to slashing his enemies.

"Ahhhh!" Botan screamed. "Yusuke!"

"Botan!" Koenma yelled in concern.

"Shit!" Yusuke cursed as he abandoned his opponent and ran towards Botan.

Kurama and Genkai ran towards Koenma who had attracted attention to himself. Kuwabara and Hiei pulled back with the others. Kurama, Genkai, and Yusuke rescued them just in time. However, they were trapped in a corner now. It wasn't much of a problem. It just made it harder for them to fight seeing as how they didn't have as much room. Yusuke powered up his index finger, ready to fire a Spirit Gun to clear them a path. However, before Yusuke had the chance to finish and fire his attack, there was a bright light coming from the entrance to the office, making nearly half of the demons and ninjas vanish into thin air.

_Finally,_ Rejuko thought.

"Akiya!" Kurama acknowledged.

"About time!" Kuwabara shouted.

"You're a few hours late dammit!" Yusuke yelled.

"Sorry about that," Akiya said, ready to kick ass as well as the others. "We were in a… _situation_… I guess you could call."

Some of the remaining enemies charged at Akiya and her group. They all were destroyed before they even got within three feet. Their superior spirit energy automatically created a small barrier, protecting them from weak enemies such as the ones that they were confronting.

"Very good," Rejuko complimented as everyone turned to glare at him. "I guess I need stronger ones."

With another small flick of his hand, he instantly killed the rest of his men. The detectives looked at him in disgust. The ninjas looked slightly surprised. Another group of enemies surrounded them and waited for their signal from Rejuko.

"How could you just kill them off like that!" Kohira asked.

"They were worthless," he answered with a smile.

"Tch, and you're all talk about how you hate seeing ninjas being used as tools!" Akiya shouted. "What the hell do you think _you're _doing!"

"_Me_?" he asked with sarcasticness. "I'm getting rid of useless things. They're not even worth being human."

"And you think you are?" Akiya countered.

"No, I'm not," he answered, surprising everyone for a brief moment. "I'm worth something _far_ greater. Enough chitchat. I want to see your new power."

Their enemies closed in on the ninjas. Jiruma stepped forward and performed a series of hand seals.

"Binding Mist Technique!" she shouted.

Mist started to fill the room. All of the enemies within its reach were stuck in it. The ninjas threw some shuriken at their opponents, killing some and injuring others. Rejuko stopped leaning against the wall and took a closer look at Jiruma's face.

"Jiruma?" he asked, the enemies automatically stopping. The detectives and ninjas were still on guard, not sure of what was going on. "Is that really you?"

He walked up closer to her.

"It really _is_ you!" he said happily, earning confused looks from everyone except for Jiruma. "What an odd father and daughter reunion, don't you think?"

Everyone was stunned.

"Jiruma… is that… true?" Hiro asked.

"…yes…" she answered. "But let me assure you that I am nor was I ever on his side!"

"Hmph, how disappointing," he said without any sympathy in his voice. "After ten years, we finally meet again only to have me kill you. Too bad."

The enemies charged in again. Hayate ignored them and jumped at Rejuko, his katana gripped tightly in his hand. His spiritual shield kept him safe from all of the attempted attacks from the demons and ninjas. The detectives killed all of their enemies and joined the ninjas.

Hayate's katana was somehow blocked by an invisible force.

"I'll admit that you ninjas have gotten much stronger, but you all are still pathetic compared to me," Rejuko said.

"Right!" Hayate sarcastically remarked as he gathered his spirit energy in his other hand and easily broke through the barrier.

Rejuko put up his hand and blocked Hayate's punch from hitting his face.

"You want to fight me that badly?" Rejuko asked smirking.

"We're gonna disconnect your head from your shoulders!" Kohira shouted.

"Oh, but isn't my head attached to my neck?" he questioned.

He moved his head back a couple of inches, dodging Hiei's katana.

"Then we'll cut it off of your neck!" he said, tired of being toyed around with.

"Mika, Yomi, Katsu, stay back!" Akiya ordered. "And guard Botan and Koenma!"

The children did as they were told. They could tell by the tone of her voice that she was serious.

_Katsu has that seal,_ Akiya thought. _I can't afford to risk letting him fight._

"Well _that_ was a bad decision," Rejuko said, toying with them. "You need all the help you can get, whether they're from children or babies or villagers. Do you seriously think that you can beat me with the power you hold right now?"

"You think you're so powerful," Hayate said, trying to suppress his anger. "When we're done with you, there won't be a single trace of you left! We'll burn every last bit of you!"

"What makes you think that you can do that?"

"Well first of all, while you were too busy charming yourself, Kohira, Keta, and Hiro have already finished the seal," Hayate informed.

Rejuko looked down. On the ground was a circle with many complicated symbols that went around him. Also surrounding him was Keta, Hiro, and Kohira. They put up a single hand seal and shouted,

"Space Limiter!"

The seal on the ground glowed and what seemed like a force field rose and trapped Rejuko inside.

"Space Limiter?" Rejuko asked calmly. "I believe you may have used the wrong technique there. I'm not _supposed_ to be able to get out, but nothing can get in."

"Really?" Hiro asked, getting out of the way and joining the others as did Keta and Kohira.

Hayate, Hiei, and Akiya powered up. The other detectives watched what was going on.

"You're about to die," Hiei informed.

"Let's see how you handle three darkness flames," Akiya said.

"Three!" Kuwabara asked stunned. "One was scary enough but three… holy shit! Run for cover!"

"If your legs'll move for you," Yusuke said, knowing that he didn't even have the guts to run.

_Three?_ Kurama thought. _That can be very dangerous. If they cannot correctly handle and control the dragons, then they will turn on them and then come after us. I hope you all know what you're doing…_

Genkai silently watched as the three released their Dragon of the Darkness Flame. All three of them hit Rejuko head on.

"Yeah!" Kuwabara shouted. "They got him!"

"No, they didn't!" Kurama said worriedly. If three darkness flames were unable to bring Rejuko down, then they were in trouble.

"Whadda ya mean?" Yusuke asked.

"If you look towards them and not us, then you'll know what he's talking about!" Genkai said, trying to hide the concern in her voice.

Yusuke looked over to the fight and saw that Rejuko was perfectly fine. His mouth as well as Kuwabara's dropped open.

"No way…" Kuwabara said, completely stunned.

"Was that supposed to be an attack?" Rejuko taunted.

"Damn you!" Akiya cursed as she performed a series of hand seals.

However, before she could finish, Rejuko threw something to her which she caught.

"I got what I came for," he said. "Now I think it's time for you to do a rescue mission."

With that, he just vanished.

Akiya opened up her hand and looked at what he gave her in horror. It was a tear gem, Yukina's tear gem!

"Akiya?" Kurama asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Yukina and the others!" she said, trying not to panic. "They're in trouble! We completely forgot about them!"

_Beep!_ _Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"Huh?" Koenma asked as the alarm sounded throughout the palace.

"What is it?" Kuwabara asked.

"That's the alarm for the vault…" he replied, trailing off.

-----Rejuko-----

Rejuko left the palace and met Tokujo nearby.

"Rejuko-sama!" Tokujo said alarmed. "You're injured!"

"Yes, I know," he replied calmly, looking at the slight burn mark near his stomach that the darkness flames had given him. "They were a bit stronger than I expected them to be, especially those three."

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Do you seriously think that they could hurt me at their level?" Rejuko questioned. "Now, let's go back to the palace, shall we?" _I'll take over all of the worlds… I'll use anything at my disposal… I'll do anything it takes to find my daughter, even if that means killing Jiruma… or using the talismans…_

**-----Next Chapter's Preview-----**

Run Away Forever Chapter 16-

The girls that were thought to be with Rejuko seem to be safe and sound in the Ningenkai. And with everything that's been going on, the detectives and the ninjas are taking a well deserved rest together. While walking around in Spirit World, outside of Koenma's Palace, Hiei, Akiya, and Hayate suddenly get separated from the rest of the group and accidentally walk into a maze, literally. Finding the way out is the least of their worries. With all of the traps and obstacles in their way, it's gonna be hell… especially since Hiei and Hayate are far from being the best team in the world…


	16. Lost

**dna-** i am **_SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER SORRY!_** it to soooooo long for this chapter to come out. it was mainly cuz i had writers block... btw, this chapter doesnt really connect all that much with the story. its main purpose is for comic relief... or i tried... and to show how much hayate cares for akiya and to show their more carefree and unserious side. if you guys really want comic relief, then you should read my fruits basket fanfic. that one made me laugh a couple times since i have an... _interesting_... imagination... newayz, enjoy this chapter if youre not too angry with me and i will try my best to get the next one out soon this time!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 16- Lost…**

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"We should split up," Genkai suggested.

"We'll go to the vault," Akiya said.

"But-" Koenma started but was cut off.

"But nothing!" Yusuke shouted. "We need to get to them! My mother and Keiko could be in danger right now as well as everyone else!"

Koenma looked at Yusuke and the other detectives. They were dead serious, especially Hiei in concern for his sister. Koenma wanted them to go to the vault together because he was afraid that Rejuko may have gone there, but he gave in.

"Take Botan with you," Koenma ordered.

Botan summoned a portal for the detectives to the Ningenkai so that they can search for the girls and make sure that they are all right.

"Let's go to the vault," Koenma said to the ninjas. "Ogre, stay here."

"Yes sir," George obediently replied.

Koenma led the way through the complicated corridors and to the vault which was somewhere _outside _of the palace.

"Jiruma-san, why did you never tell us?" Kohira asked as they followed the prince of Spirit World who was _sort of_ listening to their conversation.

"Being his daughter isn't something that I am proud of," she answered bitterly.

"Do you know why he's attacking us?" she asked again.

"I don't know," Jiruma replied. "Like he said, we haven't seen each other for ten years."

"Do you think that the attack was a diversion?" Hiro spoke after thinking a bit.

"A diversion?" Kohira wondered.

"Yeah… to distract us from Yukina and the others," he continued. "Didn't he try to take Yukina before? I just think it's weird how he just suddenly attacked."

"You're right," Keta agreed.

'_Do you think that Katsu would know the reason behind this?'_ Keta asked telepathically to Akiya, Hiro, Hayate, Kohira, and Jiruma so that the children couldn't hear.

'_I don't know,'_ Akiya responded.

'_Even if he **did** know, it's not like we're going to beat it out of him,' _Hiro said.

'_Couldn't he just tell us?' _Jiruma asked. _'He's on our side.'_

'_But Rejuko has control of him…'_ Keta replied.

'_What!'_ she asked shocked.

'_Didn't we tell you?'_ Kohira asked. _'Rejuko gave Katsu a seal. He can make him do anything he wants him to do…'_

"We're here," Koenma announced, ending their telepathic conversation.

He opened the door to the vault and immediately stepped back out. The guards were in pieces, literally.

"Mika, Katsu, Yomi, stay outside," Akiya commanded, not wanting the children to witness what was inside.

"What in the world…" Koenma trailed off as he saw more body parts. "What kind of monster would do this?"

"Mirumino…" Akiya replied. "I'd recognize his victims anywhere… this is his work."

"How grotesque…"

"So how are we supposed to find out what's missing?" Kohira wondered. "There are so many rooms in here."

"Good point…"

"Why not just look for a room with no door?" Jiruma asked playfully.

"Actually, that's a good idea," Akiya replied. "That guy Mirumino was nicknamed 'The Clean Cut Ninja.' As corny and stupid as it may sound, he lives up to his nickname quite well."

"Then let's get to it," Kohira said.

"No need," Hayate interrupted, earning a half confused look from everyone.

"And why is that?" Koenma asked.

"Because the room's in front of us," he replied.

"What?" everyone asked surprised, even Koenma himself.

"Look at the hall," he began to explain, Koenma closely listening. "Why would the hall be split in three when there are only two directions we can go? Besides, this middle hall has a dead end about a few feet in."

"You can see? It's so dark though…" Koenma mumbled half to himself.

"Shouldn't you know the way in here?" he asked, a hint of mockery in his voice. "After all, this _is_ your vault to look after, isn't it?"

"Look, I haven't been down here much, okay!"

Everyone walked into the room together. Koenma took a few steps back as soon as they reached the end of the room, earning himself weird and worried looks from the ninjas. On the wall was the door to a safe cut in half.

"What?" Akiya asked.

"There's only one artifact that we would secure so tightly…" he trailed off, still shocked.

"Which one is that?" Hiro spoke for the first time in a while.

"The Sword of Death…"

-----Thirty Minutes Later-----

The ninjas were in the Human World, talking about the Sword of Death that Koenma had mentioned when they ran into the detectives. They seemed unconcerned and even a little confused.

"They were all perfectly fine," Yusuke informed.

"What?" Akiya asked to make sure she heard correctly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Keiko was at school and my mom was at home…"

"So why did Rejuko tell us that they were in trouble?" Kurama wondered.

"I think it sounds a bit suspicious…" Keta said.

"Who cares?" Kuwabara asked. "As long as they're okay, it doesn't matter, right?"

"I supposed…" Kurama answered unsure.

"Now that we all are up to date on everything, why don't we go to Spirit World and take a day of relaxation?" Botan suggested as she turned to the ninjas. "What do you guys say?"

"Hiro?" Kohira asked.

"Sure," Hiro replied.

So for the first time since the ninjas were with them, Botan summoned a portal to somewhere in Spirit World other than Koenma's office. They landed… somewhere… it was like an empty park. There were no benches or such, just a path with trees on the side and a lake nearby.

"Where the hell are we?" Yusuke asked.

"We're in Spirit World," Botan answered.

"I know! I meant _where_ in Sprit World!" he shouted in response.

"Ah! I can't believe you don't know!"

"That's why I'm asking you!"

"Well I… don't know either!" she finished in a cheerful tone, causing Yusuke and Kuwabara to nearly fall over.

"And you were saying-"

"Hey, where'd Hiei, Akiya, and that other guy go?" Kuwabara asked, interrupting Yusuke.

Everyone looked around and noticed that they were gone.

"Great, did they get lost or something?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.

-----Akiya, Hiei, and Hayate-----

"Great… we're lost," Akiya said turning to Hayate. "What was the big deal dragging me here like that? You could've dislocated my wrist or shoulders or something you know?"

"Well if _he_ wasn't following us…" Hayate said motioning to Hiei with his head.

Akiya looked over to Hiei. He was looking around, also wondering where they were. Hayate had wanted to tell Akiya something, but Hiei followed them. When they were trying to lose him, Hayate jumped down some weird cliff and into this labyrinth, dragging Akiya down with him.

"You know, I never should have helped you train!" Hayare muttered to Hiei bitterly so that Akiya wouldn't hear.

"Well, let's find a way out of here," Akiya suggested.

As soon as she said that, the walls started to close in on them. Hayate and Hiei were alarmed.

"What the hell did you do?" Hayate asked her.

"I didn't do anything!" she denied.

"Oh shit! Let's go!"

Hayate grabbed Akiya's wrist again and pulled her along past Hiei who he pushed out of the way. Hiei growled in irritation as he ran and up next to Hayate.

"I hope you know how to get around without legs!" he threatened.

-----Koenma's Office-----

"We can't find em anywhere," Kuwabara informed the toddler.

"How did you manage to lose them in the first place?" Koenma asked curiously. "Well no matter. I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, it's not like they can't take care of themselves."

"But Hayate-sama and the other guy don't get along," Yomi said.

"Koenma-sama, three people are trespassing in the forbidden area," George told. "I have activated the Maze of Doom on them."

Koenma's face went pale.

"Three people?" Kurama repeated.

"Then maybe-"

"You _STUPID_ ogre!" Koenma screamed, cutting Yusuke off. "Akiya, Hiei, and Hayate are in there you idiot!"

"I didn't know sir!" he quickly defended himself.

"Well do something about it!" he ordered.

"But sir, you made it so that the maze can't be unactivated unless the trespassers are dead."

"WHAT!" everyone else in the room shouted together.

"Koenma!" Yusuke and Hiro said dangerously.

"Well, uh… at least we'll have some entertainment… Ogre! Get the big screen TV down here!"

"But Koenma," Kurama began to protest.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," he quickly said seeing as how everyone in the room was ready to beat him up. However, it didn't work. Everyone except Kurama and Jiruma jumped at him.

-----Akiya, Hiei, and Hayate-----

"What's the big idea!" Hiei shouted at Hayate. "You could've killed me back there!"

"Oh darn, you didn't die," Hayate replied sarcastically.

"I can kill you here and now, you know?" he warned.

"Wanna bet?" he challenged.

"Uh, some of us want to get out of here alive if you two don't mind," Akiya said. "If you two want to kill each other, can you do it _after_ you guys get me out of here?"

"Shut up. We're trying to fight," Hayate responded.

"You think fighting is more important than—huh?" Akiya looked down as did the other two. The ground was trembling. Then all of a sudden, the floor split apart. Hiei and Akiya went one way while Hayate went the other.

"Hayate-san!"

Hiei looked around at where they were now. There must've been at least a hundred different staircases and another hundred different corridors and paths to take.

"What the hell is going on?" Akiya asked.

"Do you seriously think I know?" Hiei looked at her. "Ah. What?"

Akiya was smiling at him.

"Try smiling more Hiei," she told him. "I think you'd look cuter that way."

"And why would someone like me want to look _cute_?" Hiei asked, blushing so lightly that it was barely noticeable.

"Well, what's wrong with being cute?"

Akiya paled when she felt something wrap around her body. She looked down to see vines. They pulled her up into the air and swung her around as Hiei watched in amusement.

-----Koenma's Office-----

"Is there any other way for them to get out?" Yusuke asked after everyone stopped beating up Koenma.

"I don't know," Koenma said sarcastically.

A kunai flew from Hiro's direction and hit Koenma's pacifier out of his mouth.

"They have to find the exit!" he gave in immediately.

"What? That's it?" Kuwabara asked. "That sounds simple enough."

"Well, yes. It _sounds_ simple, but the maze has traps and all sorts of other stuff in there," he informed them. "There are even some powerful demons in there if they take a wrong turn…"

Everyone prepared to jump at Koenma again as he backed away.

-----Akiya and Hiei------

Hiei had finally cut Akiya down after he got bored watching her dangling around in the air.

"I swear I'm gonna kill you!" Akiya threatened.

Hiei smirked, but it turned out to look more like a smile. Akiya smiled happily at him.

"See? I was right!" she said. "You_ do _look cuter when you smile!"

Hiei's smile quickly vanished when she said that. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise coming from somewhere around them.

"What _now_?" Akiya whined as she and Hiei looked around.

"Let's go!" Hiei shouted, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along.

Behind them was a _huge, **HUGE,**_ boulder. They ran to the closest path and kept running. All of a sudden, Hiei abruptly stopped. They were about to go downhill, and that wasn't the best thing in the world considering the fact that round things roll twice as fast down hills. However, they didn't have any other choice. The boulder wouldn't stop to give them time to think. Hiei and Akiya ran down. Akiya looked behind them to see how far the boulder was behind them. But when she did, her eyes nearly popped out. The boulder had… a booster rocket behind it? That was the most bizarre thing she had ever seen.

"Hiei!" she alerted. "The boulder's gonna run us over _and_ grill us after it's done!"

"What are you talking about!" Hiei asked as he turned around. He half paled at the boulder.

He grabbed Akiya's wrist again and sped up. Eventually, the path became straight again, but they heard something else coming from the other side despite the fact that the boulder was loud enough. They kept running, and soon enough, they ran into Hayate. But he seemed to be running from something as well. It was rushing water!

"What the hell is going on!" Hayate shouted to the other two.

They met up in the middle and turned into the same path, taking a quick break from running. They didn't get much time though. The water carried the boulder into the path they went into. And so now, they have a rampaging boulder on their tail as well as rushing water.

"Who was it again that dragged us in here again!" Akiya asked.

"Shut up!" Hayate shouted. "How the hell was I supposed to know! And you! Gothic guy! Let go of her hand!"

"Are you getting jealous!" Hiei shouted back to him.

"Could we do a better job of trying to stay alive!" Akiya asked.

Hayate saw a ledge above them not too far ahead.

"Hold on!" he warned Akiya.

He grabbed her arm and threw her up to the ledge.

"Hey!" Hiei shouted.

Hiei, who was caught off guard, held onto Akiya's hand. Akiya made it safely over the ledge despite the fact that she fell face first. However, Hiei, who happened to be below Akiya, had the ledge slammed into his stomach. Akiya didn't grab Hiei in time. He fell on top of Hayate who was on his way up, dragging Hayate down with him.

"Argh! You piece of shit!" Hayate cursed as he quickly repositioned himself.

He landed feet first on the rolling boulder and quickly jumped back up before he lost his balance, pulling Hiei up with him.

"You could've killed me!" Hayate shouted.

"Next time, give _me_ a warning too!" Hiei argued.

"You are such an idiot!" Hayate turned to Akiya. "Hey, are you o…kay?"

The two boys turned around to find no one there.

"Why weren't you looking after her!" Hayate shouted once again.

"What are you blaming _me _for!" he asked.

"I told you that she's _your_ responsibility!

"Are you _trying_ to pick a fight?" Hiei threatened as he drew his sword.

"Bring it on!" Hayate said confidently as he drew his katana as well.

-----Akiya-----

_How the hell did I get here?_ Akiya wondered. _And how did **that** get here!_

In front of Akiya was a huge red sleeping demon. Akiya carefully and quietly walked around it and was almost out of the room when there were loud shouts coming from somewhere nearby. They sounded like Hiei and Hayate. Suddenly, the demon woke up.

_I swear I'll kill **both** of them!_

The demon got up and glared at Akiya as she drew her katana. Before Akiya knew what happened, she slammed into the wall behind her.

-----Hiei and Hayate-----

The two suddenly stopped their fighting.

"What the hell?" Hayate said quietly.

"Where is that energy coming from?" Hiei wondered.

Hayate slapped his hand on his head.

"That idiotic girl got herself in trouble again," he sighed.

"And judging from the amount of energy we're sensing…"

"She got herself into a lot of trouble!" Hayate finished, racing towards the energy as Hiei did the same.

-----Akiya-----

Akiya must've slashed the demon at least over a hundred times already, yet the demon seemed completely fine. She grabbed a kunai, threw it in the air, and shouted,

"Shadow Kunai Technique!"

All of a sudden, the kunai multiplied into fifty. Akiya performed some simple hand seals and shouted,

"Dance of Kunai!" _Hirame-kun's favorite attack! Imagine, he created this attack himself. Not only is it powerful on its own, but it can be combined with so many more techniques. His spirit ball sure comes in handy… I can't perform all of his techniques as perfectly as him, but…_

The kunai danced around the demon, preventing him from escaping from the attack. Then all of the kunai flew into him. Blood splattered out from its body.

"What a weak demon…" Akiya said to herself. _I thought it was gonna be strong since it had a lot of spirit energy, but I guess I was wrong…_

All of a sudden, the kunai flew out of the demon and towards Akiya, catching her off guard.

_What!_

"Move you idiot!" came Hayate's voice.

He deflected some of the kunai away with his katana as Hiei deflected the rest.

"Do I always have to come to your rescue?" Hayate asked.

"Shut up! If you and Hiei hadn't been—"

Akiya was cut short when Hayate turned around and blocked its punch with one hand and threw him across the room. She stared at him in amazement. He was so powerful.

"Were you just gonna let that thing hit me!" Hayate shouted to Hiei.

"Maybe," he answered coolly.

"You know, don't be too disappointed if you have an early retirement on earth," he said flatly as he turned to Akiya. "And what happened to _you_? That demon was so weak. How come you couldn't defeat it?"

"Hey," Hiei called as he walked up in front of her.

Akiya suddenly collapsed on him causing Hiei to slightly blush.

"Akiya?" Hayate called as he walked up to her and pulled her gently from Hiei to get a look at her face.

She was awfully pale, and her body was cold.

"What's going on?" Hiei asked, trying to hide the concern he had. "And what's that on her neck?"

Hayate took a closer look near the side of her neck. There was a strange mark that he recognized.

"That bastard," he growled.

"What?"

"Rejuko! He must've given it to her sometime. That dumb thing is draining her soul directly. We have to get her to Keta. Only she's skilled enough to remove this thing. C'mon, let's go."

The two guys turned their attention back on Akiya when she made a noise.

"What is it?" Hayate asked gently, a tone in which Hiei had never heard him use before.

"Cold…" she whispered. In fact, it wasn't even a whisper. Her voice was so quiet and weak.

Hayate took off his jacket and put it on Akiya, leaving him with a tank top. She was about to take a step forward when he stopped her.

"Don't try to walk. I'll carry you," he said in the same gentle tone.

Hayate bent down and let her on his back. He got up and started walking. Hiei watched him, feeling helpless.

-----Koenma's Office-----

"Ogre!" Koenma shouted after he second beat down was over. "Why can't I see anything on my 10,000 dollar big screen TV!"

"Well Koenma-sama, if I tell you, you might hit me," George replied.

"If you don't tell me, I'll hit you harder!" he threatened.

"Well, you didn't install any cameras in the maze sir," he answered. "And that $10,000 big screen isn't in American money, it's in Japanese. (10,000- about $100)

Koenma paled as the others approached him for a third beat down.

-----Akiya, Hiei, and Hayate-----

Hiei looked at Akiya and Hayate.

_I should've done something,_ Hiei thought. _It's not like he's the only one that cares for her!_ Hiei was surprised by his own thought. _What am I thinking! She just another sad and helpless little girl! Besides, she's merely a mortal… but why do I get burned up every time he's with her…?_

"Where the hell is the exit!" Hiei shouted, getting extremely impatient.

"How the hell would I… … know…?"

Suddenly, in front of them, an exit appeared.

The two walked out cautiously incase it was a trap.

"Do you know the way around here?" Hayate asked Hiei.

"What _if_ I do?" he replied sarcastically.

"We have to get her to Keta before it's too late!" he shouted. "If she dies, I swear I'll never forgive you!"

"No, I don't know this place…"

"Shit…"

Akiya's breathing got harder.

"Hang on!"

-----Koenma's Office-----

"There they are!" Koenma shouted before he got beat up again. "They're finally in camera view."

"Akiya!" Katsu shouted worriedly. "What's wrong with her!"

"Akiya nee-san!" Mika and Yomi shouted together.

Hiro glared at Koenma.

"If anything happens to her…"

"Botan, get them back here!" Koenma ordered in concern for Akiya.

"Right!"

-----Five Minutes Later-----

Botan was back in the office with the other three.

Hayate immediately went over to Keta. When she was informed about the markings on Akiya's neck, she immediately went to work.

-----Hour Later-----

Akiya had finally woken up and was outside with Hayate. Kohira had told her that he wanted to speak to her.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about Hayate-san?" she asked.

"Could you stop calling me that?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Cut the "san". Just Hayate, same with the others. We've known each other for over ten years now. There's no need for you to still be so polite."

"Oh…"

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay now."

"I was just thinking, it's been a long time since you went back to the village, so maybe you could go back sometime… you know, just you, me, Hiro and the others and the children."

"That'd be nice."

There was a moment of silence.

"You know, the others really miss you. It's just not the same without you around."

"You sound sad…"

"Maybe because I feel lonely by myself there… I… miss you…"

"You know, you're a lot softer than you were before…"

Akiya and Hayate's hands bumped into each other. They both quickly pulled their hands away and became silent. The two of them stared at the setting sun.

_It's not that I don't love you… it's just that… I might be falling for him more… in a way, I like it… and in a way… I don't…_

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 17- Back to Where We First Met…

Akiya goes back to the village with Hiro and the others. She and Hayate get to spend some_ alone_ time with each other. Hayate asks Akiya a shocking question… and Akiya gives him a shocking answer. Also, the sakura tree holds a shocking secret. And little do they know that the place where they first met as enemies… could be the last place they will meet as friends…


	17. Back to Where We First Met

**dna-** um... sorry it took so long? well theres no use saying that anymore cuz i know everyones tired of hearing that from me... a lot really happened tho. thats my excuse this time. newayz, im still sorry this chapter took so long! please be patient with me!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 17- Back to Where We First Met…**

Akiya and the other ninjas were standing in front of the all too familiar gate to their village. Hiro pushed the door opened as they stepped inside.

"Not too many places we can go here," Hiro said.

"Yeah," Keta agreed. "But I think that back to the house is fine."

"Well Akiya, how does it feel to be back here?" Kohira asked. "You're okay with this, right?"

"If it's not, we can go somewhere else," Keta replied.

"No, here is fine _Keta_," Akiya replied.

Everyone except Hayate stared at her a bit surprised for a brief moment. A happy smile grew on their faces.

"Huh? What?" she asked confused.

"It's about time you felt comfortable enough to just call us by our names," Kohira replied happily.

Akiya smiled in response as they continued to walk to the house.

"Akiya nee-san, Imaru-sama is here…" Yomi warned.

Hiro and Keta walked in front of Akiya and greeted Imaru.

"You're back," Imaru said.

Akiya and the others were surprised. The tone that Imaru used with Akiya was different. It wasn't filled with hatred like it always was. It sounded… almost gentle in a way. His eyes were also different. They weren't icy cold towards her anymore.

"Jiruma, you have some papers you need to sort out in my office," he informed her.

"Yes sir, I'll go right now."

Imaru didn't say anything after that and left.

"Hey, why don't you three go and visit some of your friends?" Hiro suggested to the three children who went off.

"Should we be surprised or happy, about Imaru-sama I mean?" Kohira asked no one in particular.

"You've seemed happier lately…" Keta said to Akiya. "And you too Hayate…"

"You think so?" Akiya laughed.

"This is the Akiya that we want to see more of," Hiro said to her.

"You guys are acting like this is the last time we're all gonna be together like this or something."

"Well, who knows," Hiro replied cheerfully.

Keta opened the door to the house and walked in, everyone else following her.

"Sure feels good to walk in here smiling again, just like back then… all five of us," Kohira said happily.

"Sorry…" Akiya suddenly apologized.

"For what?" Keta asked.

"I just feel like I've caused you guys so much trouble since I left. I mean… it's not like I wanted to leave all that much in the first place and—"

"Relax," Keta cut her off. "Just know that whatever you do, we'll always be behind you to support you."

"You know, I remember how we used to come in here and just collapse on the couch or complain about another mission that we had to complete," Hiro said, changing the subject.

"And I remember how Hiro always burned the food that he was supposed to make," Kohira replied with a laugh.

"And then Akiya had to make it after she came back from looking after the kids," Keta joined.

"Either that or Keta had to make it after she finished up her duties healing the other ninjas cause she was top medical ninja," Hiro said.

"I remember when we got Hayate to make food once. Who knew he had a housewife's skills?" Kohira laughed again.

"What's up with all the reminiscing guys?" Akiya asked.

"Hey, who knows when we're gonna be able to reminisce like this again," Kohira answered. "This time could be our last."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean Kohira?"

"Is it just me, or is it getting really warm?" Hiro asked to no one in particular, changing the subject once more.

"No, I'm getting warm too…" Keta replied. "I can fix that though… let's go outside."

Everyone walked out and went to the lakeside.

"Well… it's a _little_ cooler here I guess…" Hiro said.

Keta performed a series of hand seals.

"What're you doing?"

"Fierce Gust Technique…"

All of a sudden, the wind picked up and blew them all off the ground, except for Keta of course. Even while in the air, they were still being knocked around by the strong winds.

-----Few Moments Later-----

Keta's wind finally subsided as the other four landed with a thump on the ground.

"Are you guys cooler now?" she asked, looking at them with a bland expression.

"Hell no!" Kohira shouted. "What the hell was_ that_?"

She performed a series of hand seals.

"Don't you know that water works _so_ much better! Tidal Wave Technique!"

The water from the lake rose over their heads and crashed into everyone except for Kohira. They were all underwater. When they finally managed to hang onto something to keep from drowning, Hiro performed a series of hand seals.

"Lightning Force Technique!" he yelled as he got out of the water.

Hayate quickly got out of the water as well, noticing the hand seals that Hiro performed. Lightning struck the water and electrocuted the three girls who hadn't got out. Suddenly, a powerful wind swept past them, cutting Hiro's lightning off and pushing all of the water back. Everyone turned to find Imaru. Hiro and Hayate hopped down from the tree and in front of the girls.

"What are you? Children?" he asked, not sounding angry like they expected. "Don't play like that. Someone could get hurt."

With that, he walked away.

"Okay… so what now?" Kohira wondered as she Keta and Akiya walked aimlessly. Hiro and Hayate were behind them.

"Go ahead, now's your chance," Hiro quietly said to Hayate.

"Shut up!" Hayate growled.

"Hey Akiya, Hayate wants to talk to you!" he shouted to her.

Hayate's hands were immediately around Hiro's neck. Flames were bursting from Hayate whose eyes were blood red.

"Oh, sure," she replied.

'_Dead! You're dead!'_ Hayate told Hiro telepathically.

'_She'll wonder what's up if you don't let me go,' _Hiro replied happily.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked as Hiro was freed and went to join the others.

Akiya followed Hayate who was pretty much silent. After about a couple of minutes, they were both up at the cliff with the sakura tree.

"Hayate…?" she asked.

"Remember?" he asked her.

"Remember what?"

"This is where we first met."

"How could I forget?" she asked with a smile. "When we first met here, you nearly killed, quite literally."

"We got into a huge argument, even though it was the first time we talked to each other."

It went silent. A couple minutes later, Akiya spoke up.

"You know what I've always wondered? How a sakura tree could grow near salt water…"

"Let me ask you… are you happy with Koenma and the other guys there?" he asked her.

"Somewhat," she replied.

"Have you… found a replacement for me there…?"

"…Yeah… I have…" she answered half truthfully.

"Do you love him more than me…?"

"Yeah…"

"You're lying… right?"

"I'm sorry…"

"You must know how I feel about you."

"I know… but…" Akiya replied, at a lost for words. With her was the man that she loved more than anyone else, and here she was, telling him that she didn't love him anymore.

"Tell me, why is he so much better? What makes you want to go for him more than _me_?"

"He isn't better… but maybe that's why…"

"I… love you so much…" Hayate hesitated.

Akiya's eyes widened, but it wasn't in complete shock. It broke her heart to hear those words come from him.

"Don't lie to me… I just want to know… do you love me… at all?"

_Of course I do!_ she thought. _I love you so much!_

"I…"

Hayate waited patiently.

_I love you more than anything… so why…_

"I…"

_Why do I find myself always thinking about **him**?_

"No…"

_What am I saying?_

"No… I don't… love you…" she said trying to hold her tears back, confused herself at why she replied that way.

"Are you serious…? I… I really love you!"

Akiya didn't reply.

"More than anything…" Hayate said quietly.

"But I don't love you… there's no point in a one sided romance," she lied.

He grabbed Akiya's shoulders with both of his hands firmly and pinned her to the sakura tree.

"Ha-Hayate! What're you doing?" Akiya asked.

Hayate leaned his head and gently pushed his lips against hers. Akiya was completely shocked.

_Hayate… _she thought as she closed her eyes and kissed him back gently as Hayate's grip on Akiya loosened.

Little did they know, Hiei was watching secretly nearby from the top of a tree. He had followed her out of curiosity, and now, he wished that he hadn't. Hiei tightened his fists and disappeared.

Akiya's eyes were squeezed shut. Two tears escaped her eyes.

_Hayate…_

"Stop it!" Akiya shouted as she pushed him away from her, more tears escaping from her eyes.

Hayate was confused.

"Akiya…"

"I'm sorry…" she said, still crying. "I'm so sorry!"

She turned around and ran away.

"Akiya!" Hayate called after her. "… Akiya…"

Akiya kept on running until she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, looking up. "Hiei!"

She quickly wiped her tears away.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound normal.

Hiei ignored her and continued to walk.

"Hey!" Akiya called.

Hiei continued to ignore her.

"Hiei!" Akiya grabbed his arm.

Hiei roughly shook her off.

"Don't touch me!" Hiei glared at her and after a while, turned around and continued to walk.

Akiya grabbed Hiei's arm again regardless as he furiously turned around.

"Why are you ignoring me!" Akiya shouted, almost as if she was desperate. "What did I do to make you so mad!"

"Tell me, did you enjoy kissing him!" Hiei asked as Akiya let go of his arm.

Hiei once again, turned around and walked.

"That's it then?" she asked, stopping him again. "Your jealous? Is that why you're ignoring me?"

Her trembling voice caused Hiei to turn around once more.

"Don't you think it's hard on _me_?" she asked crying. "Don't you think he's jealous too? And even angry?"

Hiei hadn't meant it to mean the way it did. He was just angry.

"If it's hard on anyone, it's on him. He just told me that he loved me more than anyone else… and the way I reacted pretty much told him to get lost…"

"I didn't mean it like that! Don't you ever try to understand anyone's feelings! The world doesn't revolve around you!"

"Do _you_ two ever try to understand _my_ feelings!" she asked. "Do you think I want to choose between you two! Sure, maybe I don't understand other people's feelings well, but at least I try!"

Akiya covered her tearstained face with her hands. Hiei walked up to her.

"Look… I'm sorry… okay?" he asked quietly.

-----At the Sakura Tree-----

Hayate stared out at the ocean.

_Akiya always loved this place… but she has no idea that the sparkling blue ocean she sees is only an illusion created by the sakura tree… and that the ocean is actually full of blood and dead bodies… I used to come here all the time because Ni-san died here… maybe it's time that Akiya learned the truth about this place. _

"…Dispel…" Hayate said as the pink sakura petals turned black. The ocean turned crimson red and the dead bodies at the bottom of the cliff appeared along with many skeletons. The sky turned dark and the thick clouds blocked the sun, making the whole area dark. Hayate looked at the view in disgust and after a couple minutes, turned around and walked back.

_Akiya… I'm sorry everything had to turn out this way…_

-----Akiya-----

Hiei had left earlier after Akiya asked him to.

_I should at least apologize to him one more time…_ Akiya thought as she walked towards the sakura tree. _I hope Hayate's still there…_

She noticed that the closer she got to the tree, the darker the sky got.

_Is it about to rain or something? And what in the world is that **horrible** smell?_

When she saw the sakura tree was in sight, she froze. Her hands automatically covered her mouth. She saw the dark black petals of the once light pink tree. She saw the dark and heavy sky filled with large dark gray clouds, and the ocean that she loved was blood red. And she saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of dead bodies and skeletons floating in the ocean.

_Wha… what the hell…?_

"What happened…?" she asked herself in complete shock. _Wait… where is he!_ "Hayate!"

No reply.

"Hayate! Are you here! Haya—ah!"

Akiya suddenly remembered a conversation they had about six or seven years ago

_-----Flashback-----_

"_I love this place!" Akiya said. _

"_Well **I** don't," Hayate replied._

"_Why? I think that it's like paradise."_

"_Because the ocean is full of blood. The smell is horrible around here, and the sky is always so dark. Plus, there are thousands of dead bodies in this ocean, and the sakura petals are pitch black, like a void. This place seems more like hell to **me**," Hayate said. _

"_What're you talking about?" Akiya wondered. "The sun's out and shining brightly. The sky is full of birds, and the ocean is sparkling blue. And the sakura petals are a light pink that relaxes me when I look at them, and the fresh air smells great. I have absolutely no idea what you're saying. This place is wonderful!"_

_-----End Flashback-----_

_What the hell… is going on…?_ Akiya thought, trying not to panic. _Was it **always** like this? The fresh air that I always breathed in… was it always this ocean of… of… blood and dead bodies…?_

Akiya calmed down. She couldn't stay there much longer. It was too much for her at the moment. Akiya turned around and ran back.

_Hayate said that he hated this place,_ she thought. _Why? Why would he come here all the time? Why would he take me here when he knew that I needed to get away or when I was down? Why did he never tell me?_

-----About an Hour Later-----

Akiya just arrived back to Spirit World in Koenma's office with the other detectives already there, including Hiei.

"What is it?" Akiya asked. "What's the emergency you were talking about?"

Koenma looked up, completely serious.

"We have a problem…" he began.

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 18- Sword of Death

While Koenma is informing the detectives about the Sword of Death, people are getting terrorized in the Ningenkai. Koenma gives the detectives the task of finding the sword and bringing it back. However, they will not find that task so easy, seeing as how Mirumino, the 'Clean Cut' ninja is in possession of it.


	18. The Sword of Death

**dna-** ok, sorry again. in addition to taking a long ass time before updating this chapter, its also short as hell... n it sux like crap... ive just been so tired lately... well neway... try to enjoy this chapter...

**Run Away Forever Chapter 18- The Sword of Death**

"We have a problem…" Koenma began, everyone tensely listening.

"Well what is it?" Yusuke asked after a few seconds.

"Well you see… the Sword of Death that was stolen from the vault that day was… well…"

"What!" Yusuke asked again impatiently.

"Well… Rejuko found out how to uh… activate it…"

"And?" Kurama queried.

"Well… he learned how to activate it_ fully_…"

"How bad is that?" Kuwabara asked.

"You see, what the Sword of Death does when it's fully activated is that it calls up all of the 'evil' spirits. The sword creates temporary bodies for the spirits to use, and let's just say… we're in a _**lot** _of trouble…"

"Let me guess," Hiei replied. "They're attacking the _Human_ World."

"Naturally," Koenma said.

"Then that would mean that… Keiko and my mom!" Yusuke shouted.

"Yes… well… about _that _situation…" he trailed off.

"What is it?" Kurama asked.

"Uh… nothing… anyway, I'm pretty sure you know what your mission is," Koenma changed the subject. "I want you guys to get that sword back by whatever means necessary. Understand?"

-----The Ningenkai-----

People were scattered everywhere, running in all directions, hoping to get away from the chaos.

A portal opened up in an obscured place as the Spirit Detectives came out.

"What the hell…" Yusuke said at a lost for words.

"Th-there're so many of those things," Kuwabara said. "And they're killing everyone…"

"Of course they are," Hiei retorted. "What did you think they would do? Help people carry their groceries?"

"Shuddup you shrimp!"

Akiya threw a kunai that flew right past Yusuke's head by a centimeter or two, hitting the demon that was ready to attack him from behind.

"Whoa! Watch where you're aimin that thing!" he warned as he turned around. "What the!"

The demon that Akiya hit fell to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Kuwabara asked.

"He was _already_ dead to begin with," Akiya reminded. "You can't kill something that's already dead."

"We must be on guard," Kurama informed. "There are many of those demons."

"Gee, ya think Kurama?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.

"If we focus on the sword, everything should be okay," Akiya said.

"But what about everyone else?"

"We can't help it! Either we get that sword or everyone dies!"

"My, you're_ so_ cold Akiya," came an eerie voice from behind them all.

"Mirumino!" Akiya said alarmed.

Everyone looked around for the owner of the voice. Suddenly, they sensed something to their right and quickly moved out of the way. Where they used to stand was a huge crack on the ground, and in the tree three feet away from the crack was a tall man with dark brown hair and eerie dim yellow eyes. In his hand was the Sword of Death.

"What's the big idea!" Kuwabara shouted at the man. "You could've hit us ya know!"

"I believe that was the point Kuwabara," Kurama replied.

"You know him Akiya?" Yusuke asked her quietly.

"That's Mirumino," Akiya replied in a hushed voice. "His specialty is the sword."

"How strong is this guy?"

"Strong enough to kill us if we don't be careful."

"Do not forget our other enemies as well," Kurama joined.

Everyone looked around them, remembering that there were still the demons that were summoned by the sword. Mirumino jumped down chuckling.

"Nervous, are we?" he asked. "Let's… make this a fair fight."

"Fair!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "You call a gazillion demons against five people _fair_!"

"You mean a gazillion dead demons that we can't kill, Kuwabara," Akiya said.

Mirumino laughed.

"Since when were _you_ the type to worry about being outnumbered?" he asked Akiya. "Back then when that old grandpa sent you and the others out after us, you ignored all the obstacles and went straight for the prime target. Did they degrade you that much already? Huh!"

Akiya was behind him, catching him off guard as she kicked him off the tree and into the ground.

"How's _that_ for degraded?" she asked.

"…W-whoa…" Kuwabara stammered. "Remind me never to say that she's degraded…"

"Where in the hell did _that_ come from?" Yusuke asked amazed as he turned to Hiei. "Hey, she may even be faster than _you_ now Hiei! Looks like you've got some _competition_."

"Unless you have death wish Detective, keeping your mouth shut would be a very wise choice," Hiei threatened.

Mirumino got back up on his feet.

"I didn't know that you were all that eager to die," he said calmly as he began to let his spirit energy flare up.

_So, he's finally showing his power… _Kurama thought as he reached for his rose.

Kuwabara had his Sprit Sword ready as the others got into their defensive stances.

Akiya ran at him with a kunai ready in her hand. She abruptly stopped and jumped a couple feet back when the demons jumped in front of her and Mirumino, creating a boundary so she couldn't get through.

-----Sprit World-----

_I wonder… maybe I should've told them after all…_ Koenma thought, staring at his desk.

"Koenma-sama," George called. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he replied. "Go down to the library and find me a book about this Mirumino person."

"Yes sir," he answered obediently as he walked out the door.

-----Spirit Detectives-----

Akiya ducked down and dodged the jump kick that the demon aimed at her, letting him fly into another demon as she stabbed the demon beside her with her kunai. Kurama lashed out his Rose Whip and knocked away all of the nearby demons. Kuwabara slashed the demons one by one as Yusuke shot his Sprit Gun and cleared a short path for himself. Hiei however, didn't waste time with them. He cut through the two demons in front of him and jumped at Mirumino who blocked Hiei's blow from above.

"I've heard rumors about you," Mirumino said as he parried another one of Hiei's blows. "I heard that you were quite the demon when you were younger, but it looks like you've been degraded too."

Hiei disappeared and reappeared behind Mirumino and swung his sword, aiming for his head. However, Mirumino turned around and swiftly blocked the blow.

"You're a real fast one," he said. "Not that _I_ can tell how fast you're going."

Hiei merely stared at him though he wondered how Mirumino could tell where he was if he wasn't able to keep up with his movements.

"It's something called skill," Mirumino said, seeing Hiei's half confused look.

-----Spirit World-----

George came back into the office empty handed.

"Koenma-sama, I couldn't find the book that you were looking for," he informed.

Koenma didn't reply.

"Should I get Botan to search for it?"

"No…" Koenma answered. "She's… away…"

The blue ogre looked at the prince nonplussed.

"But I thought—"

"She _away_ Ogre!" Koenma shouted.

George was shocked and confused. Normally, Koenma wouldn't be so aggravated, but he ignored it.

_Maybe Koenma-sama is stressed out about the sword…_

-----Spirit Detectives-----

Akiya punched away the demon that was in front of her.

"_Since when were you the type to worry about being outnumbered?"_

She did a back flip, kicking the demon behind her up in the air and quickly turned around to kick the demon beside her with her other foot.

"_Back then when that old grandpa sent you and the others out after us, you ignored all the obstacles and went straight for the prime target."_

Akiya ducked down and grabbed the other demon by his foot and pulled him down, taking out her kunai and stabbing the demon that jumped at her from above.

_I have no time for this!_

She performed a series of hand seals and shouted out, "Quick Sand Burial Technique!"

All of the demons around her sank into the ground as she jumped away.

"Mirumino!" she shouted as she threw a shuriken at him.

Mirumino quickly deflected Hiei's sword and turned around to deflect Akiya's shuriken. He quickly jumped back towards Akiya as Hiei swung his sword at him, escaping with a small cut. Akiya aimed a kick at his head which he barely blocked.

"Stroke of Fire!" Mirumino shouted after very quickly performing some hand seals.

He transferred his spirit energy into his sword as it glowed bright orange. Mirumino swung his sword horizontally as fire burst from his sword and at Akiya and Hiei. Akiya performed another series of hand seals as the fire continued to near her, but before she got the chance to finish, Hiei interrupted.

"Fool!" he shouted as he jumped and tackled her out of the way.

"Hiei!" Akiya shouted as he took the blow.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama's attentions all immediately turned to the other three, worried about Hiei.

"Go to hell shit holes!" Yusuke shouted as he used his Shotgun, blasting away all the demons in front of him. "They're not your only enemies!" he shouted to Mirumino as his Shotgun headed towards him.

"Black Shield Technique!" Mirumino shouted after he performed another series of hand seals.

A dark transparent wall formed right before Yusuke's Shotgun reached him and protected him from the blow. In addition to that, the Shotgun was deflected back at him and the others.

"Kuwabara! Move out of the way!" Kurama warned him.

Kuwabara slashed down another demon.

"What?" he asked. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Kuwabara jumped down, barely dodging the attack as Kurama and Yusuke jumped out of the way.

"Ha!" Kuwabara laughed as he got up. "You just killed all your men! What's gonna protect you _now_!"

"Idiot," Mirumino replied calmly. "Didn't you hear what Akiya said earlier? They're already dead."

Mirumino looked over in Akiya's direction when she got up as did Hiei. The other detectives mentally sighed in relief. However, they didn't have much time to be relieved for the demons that got knocked down were getting back up.

In one swift motion, Mirumino grabbed his kunai with his other hand and chucked it at Hiei who effortlessly hit it aside with his katana.

"I think it's time you see one of the sword's special powers!" came Mirumino's voice from behind Akiya and Hiei.

He simply swung the sword down.

…Nothing happened.

"Tch, what's so special about a simple—ah!"

Yusuke was cut off when everyone was suddenly hit with a barrage of cuts that came from nowhere.

"Maybe that was too much for you all," Mirumino replied amused as he looked down on the detectives who were on the ground.

"Don't be so sure," Hiei responded coolly as he got up and disappeared.

Akiya's hand reached back for a kunai, ready to attack as the other three also got up. Hiei reappeared beside Mirumino and the two began their own personal fight. Akiya could barely tell what was going on. Although Mirumino wasn't able to exactly keep up with Hiei, his skills in sword fighting made him able to hold his own in their battle. The other four could do nothing but watch. Mirumino abruptly paused when Hiei slashed him across his stomach.

_There!_ Akiya thought as she threw a kunai, hitting his side.

Yusuke took the chance to fire his Spirit Gun which hit Mirumino hard in the back.

"Ah!" Yusuke shouted when he got kicked on the head by one of the demons.

"Yusuke!" Kurama called in concern as he rushed over to help fight off the demons.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled as he did the same.

Hiei and Akiya walked up to Mirumino who was on the ground.

"Now, you can die," Hiei said as he stabbed Mirumino in the stomach… but his katana stopped a millimeter before it hit him, confusing Hiei.

_The sword **protects** him?_ Akiya asked herself as she wrote something on the ground with her blood and performed a few simple hand seals.

"Sealing Technique."

Hiei could see a thin layer of what looked like smoke, which it probably wasn't, rise out of the sword and go into the ground. Akiya then erased the writing on the ground as all of the demons screeched as their bodies were disappearing. He pushed the thought aside and stabbed Mirumino in the stomach, this time, his katana went through his body.

"…not… possible…" Mirumino said through his teeth as Akiya was toying with another kunai that she had pulled out.

"In this world, those who chose to make a difference will make the impossible possible..." she said as she threw the kunai at Mirumino's head.

-----Later-----

Yusuke and Kuwabara were reporting to Koenma while Kurama was off somewhere. Hiei, as usual, was sitting on one of the tree branches in the forest, except he was with Akiya this time.

"Hey, let me see your wounds real quick," Akiya said.

"I'm fine," Hiei replied.

"Fine my ass… you were hit head on with that fire," she pointed out. "And don't forget all of those cuts you got from that sword thing."

"If you weren't so idiotic as to not move when that fire was heading for you in the first place, there would've been no need for me to rescue you and get hit, and Mirumino would've been dead before he could pull off his sword attack."

"You trying to imply that this is all my fault?"

"Hn."

"You can be a real jerk sometimes you know…" Akiya sighed. "At least let me see if you got any burns or something."

"Why are you so persistent?" Hiei asked.

"Can't I be worried?"

"_You_? Worried about _me_?" Hiei asked amused.

"What about it?" she asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Shouldn't be the other way around?" Hiei accidentally slipped as he slightly blushed and tried to keep a straight face.

"Huh…?" Akiya asked as she looked up at Hiei. "… did you _really_ just say that? Or am I hearing things?"

"Keep your mouth shut or I'm cutting it off!" he threatened.

"You know, this is why all of the sane girls run away from you," she said, Hiei not responding to her. "_Screaming_. And—hm? What?"

Hiei jumped down to the ground and looked at Akiya.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked, not knowing what Hiei meant.

"What about Hayate? Won't he get jealous?"

Akiya looked at Hiei… shocked.

She opened her mouth slightly, as if about to say something but didn't. Akiya only looked up through the trees and at the darkening sky as Hiei stared at her somewhat sadly.

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 19- Destruction of the Village

Koenma once again, abruptly calls the detectives for an urgent mission. He had gotten a letter concerning Akiya's village… and why is it that Hayate, Hiro, Keta, Kohira, Katsu, Mika, and Yomi are nowhere to be found?


	19. Destruction of the Village

**dna-** O-M-F-G-! I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY! i swear! you have to believe me! i seriously tried to get this out as soon as possible but i was completely overloaded with projects from my school! (6 if ur wondering...) and on top of that, i had hit writers unbreakable wall for both my fanfics! i am so sorry! for those of you who read my fruits basket fanfic, i should have that up in about two or three days! again, i'm so sorry!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 19- Destruction of the Village**

"What is it _this _time Koenma?" Yusuke asked. "Is it another stolen antique like you or is it something actually worth worrying about?"

"This is no time for joking Yusuke," Koenma replied seriously. "This mission is going to be a bit… _difficult_…"

"Hey, where's Akiya?" Kuwabara asked.

"There's no time to waste," he continued, ignoring Kuwabara. "You need to find a way back to that ninja village and check something out for me."

"Can't you just open a portal for us or something?" Yusuke asked.

"If I could, I wouldn't be telling to waste your time finding a way there," Koenma replied.

"If that's the case, then wouldn't it better for Akiya to come with us?" Kurama queried. "She should know the way to and from her village pretty well. And after all, she's from that village."

"No!" he ordered firmly, shocking the detectives. "She is _not_ to know about this mission, understand!"

"What's going on?" Yusuke asked worriedly. "What's wrong Ko—"

"She is not to know about this mission," Koenma repeated more firmly. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah…" he replied unsurely.

"Kurama? Kuwabara? Hiei?"

"Y-yeah, no problem," Kuwabara answered quietly.

Kurama nodded in response.

"Hn," was Hiei's reply.

"Alright then, go," Koenma commanded.

"Wait," Kurama said. "Before we go, what are we supposed to do?"

"You'll know what to do when you get there Kurama…" he answered as he walked out of his office, Hiei eying him suspiciously.

George silently followed Koenma out of the office.

"Koenma-sama, hasn't Botan been out for an unusually long time now?" he asked.

The prince didn't reply.

"Koenma-sama?"

"I know…" he answered quietly. _I never expected this much to happen when Akiya came to join us…_

-----Spirit Detectives-----

"Man this friggin sucks," Yusuke said as he and the other detectives walked down a random path in a random forest. "We've gotta march out dumb way back to that village!"

"And what's up with Koenma anyway?" Kuwabara wondered. "I mean, why send us without Akiya?"

"He seemed quite serious when he told us not to tell Akiya…" Kurama said to himself.

"Maybe it's a guy thing!" Yusuke joked.

"Ha! Nice one Urameshi!" Kuwabara laughed.

Kurama dropped back to join Hiei.

"Something just doesn't seem right about this…" Kurama said to him.

"And I should care why?" Hiei spoke for the first time in a long while.

"And you don't seem like yourself lately either Hiei," Kurama replied. "Is there something wrong? You seem distracted."

"Mind your own business," he said, cold as always. _Kurama is right… and I don't trust Koenma. I **know** there's something that he's not telling us. That much is obvious. And why is that blue haired cheery waste of space been away for so long?_

_I get the feeling that there's more to this than what even **Koenma **thinks,_ Kurama thought to himself. _We have to be cautious…_

-----At the Village-----

There were fires and bodies everywhere, both of the villagers and some of the ninjas.

"I-Imaru-sama… th-they've disappeared…" Jiruma informed Imaru as she went by his side to help him stand despite her injuries.

"Those guys… I never thought that they would…" he trailed off.

"Should I send word for Akiya-san and her friends?" Jiruma asked.

"I've already sent word to Koenma about this," Imaru replied. "His detectives will be arriving sometime…"

Jiruma kept quiet, still wondering about Akiya.

"Jiruma…"

"Yes sir?" she replied.

"I don't think that it's necessary for her to know about this…" he said.

Jiruma was confused, but didn't question him.

"Yes sir…"

-----Spirit Detectives-----

"My legs friggin hurt!" Kuwabara complained. "Can't shorty here use his freak eye to search for the place?"

"Stop complaining," Hiei replied agitated. "You're shattering my ear drums with that annoying voice of yours. And besides, you could use some exercise. Maybe that way, you won't just stumble around and get in our way."

"What'd you say, you little dried up shrimp!" he shouted.

"Now now you two," Kurama butted in. "Let's be nice."

"They're not kids Kurama," Yusuke said. "Well, at least one of them isn't."

"I hope you have your will written up Detective, because I don't have much tolerance today!" he warned.

"Why?" Kuwabara asked with a mischievous grin. "Because your beloved Akiya here with us today? Hahahahahaha!"

Hiei sheathed his sword as he walked by everyone.

"No, it's because you're mouth runs like a motor!"

Kuwabara stood nervously, teary eyed. The top of his hair was lopped off. Yusuke and Kurama looked at Kuwabara nervously.

-----Koenma's Office-----

Koenma stared at the note that he had received from Imaru, hoping that everything would be alright. He was pulled out of his thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he replied, looking up as the door opened. "Oh, Akiya… what is it?" Koenma asked as he slipped the note into his hand, crumpling it.

"Uh… I was just wondering if you knew where Hiei was…" she replied.

"He and the others are out doing something for me right now," Koenma answered.

"Oh, never mind then," Akiya said, turning around, about to exit the room.

"Was there something you needed?" he asked as she turned around again.

"Every once in a while, there's this place you can go to," she began explaining. "I guess you could call it a mystical lakeside. It separates your tainted energy from you so that you're only left with the purest energy. It's sort of hard to explain, but I used to go with Hayate, so I thought it would kinda be nice to take Hiei along… but it's okay. Please, don't worry about it."

She smiled and walked toward the exit of his office when he stopped her again.

"Akiya…" he called as she turned around once more. "If you don't mind too much… I could go instead…"

"Hm?"

"I-I'm not trying to hit on you or anything!" he exclaimed, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "I just thought that, well… you know… since you go with someone every time that you'd be lonely going alone this time! It's not like I—"

"Sure!" she answered with a smile. "I don't mind."

-----Spirit Detectives-----

"Is this it?" Yusuke asked no one in particular as he looked at the huge gate in front of him.

"I can't believe we made it here by turning in random directions…" Kuwabara said astonished.

"Well… as long as we're here, I suppose that doesn't matter much," Kurama replied.

Hiei easily pushed the gate opened as he went in, followed by the others. They looked around, noticing all of the dead bodies.

"Man… ninjas are brutal…" Kuwabara said in disgust.

"So you've arrived…" they heard a familiar voice say to them. "That's good…"

They looked up to see Jiruma half covered in blood.

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked in concern.

"I'm fine… Imaru-sama would like to see you four immediately," she informed quietly as she started walking.

The detectives followed her into the building. Jiruma led them through some halls and up the stairs and to Imaru's room. She stopped and knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Come in…" he replied after a while.

Jiruma opened the door and went in, the others following her. Imaru, who was standing by the windows, turned around. He stared at his assistant who nodded and left the office.

"So uh… what's up? Looks like this village kinda got uh…" he trailed off.

"We have a major crisis on our hands," the old man began.

-----Koenma and Akiya-----

Akiya led Koenma through the woods. The two of them were silent. They hadn't said a word to each other, making Koenma feel uncomfortable. He had offered to go with Akiya to keep her company.

"You sure know your way around," Koenma said, trying to start a conversation.

"That comes from being a ninja," she replied with a smile.

"So does your loyalty," he complimented, having seen that himself.

"You think so?" she asked, her smiled fading.

Koenma didn't answer.

"I guess that's how it seems to everyone else," Akiya said. "Being a ninja myself, trust me, loyalty isn't one of our best traits."

"Why would you say that?" Koenma wondered.

"Well, I suppose that's another thing that comes from being a ninja," she replied.

"It's not for me to judge, but I think you're wrong," he said, going silent.

They grew quiet again, making their way through the woods. After a little while, Koenma stopped.

"Something wrong?" Akiya asked as she too, stopped and turned around.

"Akiya… I…" Koenma hesitated. "Yusuke and the others…" he sighed heavily. "This morning, I received a note from Imaru… it said that there had been some… _disputes_ in the village. He asked me to send Yusuke and the others over there and… well…"

"Why didn't you tell me!" she asked, getting upset. "How could you keep something like this from me!"

"It wasn't just me! It was him too!" he argued.

"It doesn't matter!" Akiya shouted.

Koenma once more sighed and calmed down.

"L-look… I know I should've told you right away…" he replied guiltily. "I shouldn't have lied to you or anything… just… go after them Akiya."

"And what about you?" she asked.

"I can get a portal back from here! Don't worry about me!" he ordered. "Now get going!"

"Thanks…" Akiya said quietly. "I really appreciate this Koenma…"

With that, she disappeared. Koenma stared at where Akiya was standing.

_After I kept something like **that** from her, she still worried about how I'd get back to the office… what a girl…_

-----Akiya-----

She was only about a fourth of a mile from her village.

"_It said that there had been some…** disputes **in the village."_

_Something isn't right…_ Akiya thought as she jumped down from the tree branch and in front of the village gate.

She opened the gate and walked inside, surprised at the condition of the village.

"Hey! What happened?" Akiya asked a nearby elderly woman.

"It was terrifying!" she exclaimed. "Out of nowhere, they just attacked us! My grandson is dead because of them! How could they do something like this to us!"

"Who's _they_?" she asked calmly.

-----Five Minutes Later-----In Imaru's Office-----

It had been silent for quite a while.

"To ask you to pursue the people who did this is something that would be impossible as long as Akiya is with you four," Imaru said. "I won't bother to burden you four with such a task. All I need from you four is—"

Imaru was interrupted when the door to his office slammed opened.

"Akiya-san! You can't go in there!" Jiruma shouted. "I'm sorry Imaru-sama! I tried to stop her!"

Everyone in the room stared at Akiya in shock, Imaru most of all.

"What's the meaning of this!" he asked, glaring at Akiya, but his gaze softened when he saw her face overwhelmed with disbelief.

Akiya tightened her fist. Her nails pierced through her skin though she barely had any, causing some blood to seep through.

"Where are they?" she asked quietly, not bothering to hide the trembling in her voice.

Imaru didn't reply.

"Where are who?" Kurama wondered.

"The kids! Hiro and the others!" Akiya shouted.

The detectives' faces, even Hiei's, were filled with shock.

"_To ask you to pursue the people who did this is something that would be impossible as long as Akiya is with you four."_

"Wait!" Kurama exclaimed. "You can't mean that they were the ones responsible for this!"

Akiya clenched her fist even more, making her blood drip down onto the floor. Hiei grabbed her wrist firmly as she looked up.

"Stop," Hiei simply said.

After a little while, she unclenched her fist. He let go of her and he himself, clenched his own fist. Hiei finally understood what Hayate was saying to him.

"_Let's just say… I won't always be able to protect Akiya… and I need someone I can trust to protect her…"_

"_I need someone who can stop me… to bluntly put it… I'm trusting you with my life, and with hers."_

"_I told you that she's your responsibility!"_

He finally understood why Hayate had told him to look after Akiya, Hayate had known that this was bound to happen all along.

"Hey… Hiei?" Kuwabara called. "You alright? You seem kinda stressed…"

"It's nothing for you to be concerned about," he replied cold and emotionlessly as always.

"I want to talk to Akiya alone…" Imaru said suddenly. "If you don't mind, would you all leave? Jiruma, you as well."

After a few seconds, everyone left the room except for Akiya.

"Things weren't supposed to turn out this way…" he said quietly, not knowing exactly what he wanted to say to her.

"If that's it… then I'm going…" she replied as she turned the door knob.

"They said that this wasn't your fault," the old man said, stopping her before she pulled the door opened. "They said that this was their own conscious decision that they each made individually..."

"But they made it because of _me_, didn't they?" Akiya asked as she opened the door. "Thanks a lot though…"

"Just let me remind you that these four are also your friends… you shouldn't make them worry about you so much…"

After she exited the room, Imaru called the detectives back in to have a word with them.

-----Few Hours Later-----

Everyone was back at Spirit World thanks to Akiya who led them there.

"So is that it?" Koenma asked his detectives.

"Yeah, he just wanted to talk," Yusuke replied.

"Alright then, that's all. You guys can go."

Koenma summoned a portal for them so that they could get back to the Human World and left his office. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama went through.

"Hiei, wait," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I want to take you somewhere," Akiya said.

"_Just let me remind you that these four are also your friends… you shouldn't make them worry about you so much…"_

_I won't…_

She walked out of Spirit World and through the woods where she and Koenma were before. Hiei followed her silently.

"Where are we going?" Hiei asked.

"It's a secret," she smiled, keeping him in suspense. "You'll see."

After a few more minutes of walking, the two arrived at their destination.

"This is it!" Akiya said happily.

Hiei stepped through and was in shock. The lakeside they were at was absolutely incredible. There was a warm yet cool gentle breeze. The sky wasn't filled with stars, but the few that were there were beautiful and bright. And it seemed as if some of the stars were floating right around the two. Near the middle of the lake, the moon reflected off of the water creating gorgeous silver rays in the reflection.

Suddenly, while admiring the lakeside, Hiei felt all of his troubles and pain leave him. It were as if he had been set free from everything that was pulling him down. Happiness was the only thing that he could feel right now.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Akiya asked, the same thing happening to her.

Hiei turned to look at her.

"This place is completely pure," she said. "It takes away all of your negative energy… and it only leaves you with the untainted energy… it's like setting us free from everything…"

Akiya walked in front of Hiei and gazed at him.

"What?" Hiei asked annoyed, but really, he was nervous.

"Before these stars burn out… and before I have to live bound by my problems again…"

She wrapped her arms around Hiei and gently pulled him in, Hiei being too nervous to do anything as she kissed him. His heart skipped a beat, literally. She had caught him completely off guard…

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 20- Old Friends, New Enemies

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama find out for sure this time that the girls are missing and go to Koenma for answers. Koenma, who had already known about it, is making his first priority to find out where Rejuko's hideout is. Meanwhile, Akiya and Hiei runs into Rejuko and his new subordinates on they're way back from the woods…


	20. Old Friends, New Enemies

**Run Away Forever Chapter 20- Old Friends, New Enemies**

Hiei stood frozen, unable to do anything… more like not sure of what to do. He had been completely off guard. After what seemed like minutes later, Akiya broke the kiss. Hiei still didn't move. It was as if he was completely paralyzed.

"Wha…" he was at a lost for words.

"You… must know by now…" Akiya said.

"Kn-know what?" Hiei asked, pretending not to know as he tried to recover from his shock.

She stared at him, then smiled lightly.

"Nothing…" she replied quietly as she turned around to a rising sun. "It's… already morning…"

"Y-yeah…" he said.

-----Koenma-----

"Ogre!" Koenma called.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm leaving you in charge," Koenma said, surprising George. "If the detectives come by, tell them I'm away. I don't want to be disturbed for a while."

"Yes sir," George replied obediently, not questioning the prince at all.

Koenma walked out of his office and down the hall. He was really in trouble. After a few minutes of walking, he went into his private office at which he had just arrived at. The prince took a seat and rubbed his eyes in fatigue.

-----Yusuke-----

"Yo Keiko!" Yusuke greeted his girlfriend as he showed up late to where they were supposed to meet up for their date.

"You're late Yusuke!" Keiko scolded. "You know, it's rude to keep a lady waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah," he replied. "I've only heard that about a billion times already…"

"That's because you always late!" she argued.

"Okay, you've made your point," he gave in. "Geez… so what are we going to watch?"

"Actually, I was thinking that we go somewhere else instead," Keiko replied.

"Like where?" Yusuke asked.

"Well… I was thinking that maybe we can take a walk or something at the park," she suggested.

"Uh… okay… sure…" he replied.

-----At the Park-----

Yusuke and Keiko were walking on one of the paths at the park.

"Hey Yusuke…" Keiko called.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I know this mission that you have to do right now is really important, but please be careful…" she said worriedly, causing Yusuke to look at her in confusion.

"Relax Keiko," Yusuke said, trying to comfort her. "Haven't I always come back in one piece?"

"That's not the point Yusuke!" she shouted with tears in her eyes. "I just… I just don't want to lose you again!"

Keiko hugged Yusuke tightly, shocking him.

"Keiko…" he trailed off as he put her arms around her to calm her down. "Don't worry about me… I promise nothing's gonna happen, and you know I've never broken a promise to you before."

"But… what if you get caught off guard?" she asked, still in a worried voice. "Like right now!"

"Huh?"

Yusuke looked at Keiko.

"Ke-Keiko!" he shouted as he grabbed her arm, stopping the knife right before it stabbed him. "What're you doing!"

Keiko kept pushing the knife towards Yusuke's throat as he tried to keep himself alive with great difficulty.

"Keiko, stop it!" Yusuke shouted. _What the hell's going on!_

"You're going to die Yusuke…" she said. "And I'm going to be the one to kill you. This is one promise you won't be able to keep…"

He frowned a bit when she started talking again.

"So… tell me Yusuke… what will you do… when something like this happens…? Will you kill me… or will you die…?"

_Keiko!_ Yusuke thought desperately as he held her back. _Dammit!_ _I can't hold her back for much longer! Not like this!_

Keiko chuckled.

"Snap out of it Keiko!" Yusuke shouted as he punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.

He got up and readied himself for whatever else she was going to try to do… except, she didn't move. Yusuke lowered his guard and walked up to her.

"K-Keiko…?" he called, getting no response. "Keiko!"

She laid there motionlessly on the ground.

-----Kurama-----

"Mother," he called as he closed the door after he entered the house. "Mother?"

"I'm in the kitchen Shuichi," she replied.

"Did you need something?" he asked as he appeared next to his human mother.

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry to bother you," Shiori apologized. "Did I interrupt something important?"

"No, not at all," Kurama replied.

"Oh, that's good," she said relieved. "Would you mind if you run out and buy the groceries for me today? I'm expecting a guest soon so I don't want to be away if they arrive…"

"Oh, sure. That's no problem at all," he said as he looked around for the grocery list.

"The list is on the refrigerator honey…"

"Oh…" Kurama turned around to grab the list, but as soon as he did, he spun back around and grabbed his mother's arms.

He stared in shock at the emptiness in his mother's eyes and the claws that suddenly appeared on her fingers. She was trying to choke him. Either that or slash him in the back.

"M-mother!" he exclaimed.

"Shuichi… what are you doing?" she asked. "You're hurting you mother's arms… let go…"

"Mother, stop this!" Kurama yelled.

"I said you're hurting mother Shuichi…" Shiori repeated sternly as she pushed towards Kurama harder.

Kurama was losing his balance. He pushed his mother away and quickly moved behind her. Before she could turn around, he hit her on the back of her neck, knocking her out.

-----Kuwabara-----

"I'm home…" Kuwabara announced as he entered the house.

"Kazuma, welcome back," Yukina greeted sweetly.

"Y-Yukina!" he exclaimed. "What're _you_ doing here in my humble home my sweet?"

"Oh, well—"

"Kaa-zuu-maa-!" a _much _less delightful voice called his name, cutting Yukina off.

"Oh, sis…" Kuwabara said nervously. "W-what is it?"

"Why is my CD player in pieces!" she asked.

"Oh… uh… my friend borrowed it and he kinda dropped it and broke it," he replied, still a bit nervous as he walked by her and halfway up the stairs before she yanked him back down by his shirt.

"That was my favorite CD player!" Shizuru fumed.

"R-realax Sis! I'll get you another one!" Kuwabara quickly said. "I get you a better one th—whoa!"

He barely dodged the punch that Shizuru threw at him followed by a kick that he dodged by tripping over his own feet.

"Stop stumbling around and stay still Kazuma!" Shizuru yelled as her punch connected with is face, sending Kuwabara flying back, completely shocking him.

"Si…Sis…?" Kuwabara called as he stared at her. _Something isn't right… it's like a feeling in my gut. She… she was seriously trying to kill me! And over a CD player too!_

Shizuru's eyes flared as Kuwabara whipped around and ran right out the door.

"Wait! Kazuma!" called a sweet voice.

"Y-Yukina!" he replied as she ran up to hug him, causing him to blush as he forgot about everything else. "Oh Yukina. You have finally confessed thou love for—"

He was cut short when he got blown away by Yukina's blizzard.

"Ow!" Kuwabara cried, then stupidly said. "Like they say I guess, love is pain…"

"Oh Kazuma…" Yukina said sweetly as she and Shizuru walked up to him.

Shizuru cracked her knuckles.

"I love you _very_ much Kazuma, as a sister of course," she said with a smirk, making Kuwabara shutter.

"And I love you very much too Kazuma," Yukina said, innocent as always.

"W-wait!" he said. "I take that back! Love has to be painless! Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He dashed down the street with Shizuru and Yukina right on his tail.

"I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" Kuwabara shouted as he coincidentally ran into Yusuke and Kurama. He jumped behind both of them.

"What the!" Yusuke said confused as he turned around to look at Kuwabara. "What the hell's wrong with _you_? Have you officially gone insane? Not that you always weren't…"

"Save me! Save me! Save me!" he pleaded.

Yusuke and Kurama looked up to find Yukina and Shizuru glaring at Kuwabara with blood thirsty eyes. Kurama and Yusuke held back a laugh.

"Yukina with a will to kill…" Kurama said. "That's something new that you won't see everyday."

"Now that's what I call girl power…" Yusuke said amused.

"That's not funny Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted as he suddenly flew back.

The moment abruptly turned serious when Yukina blew them away with her blizzard again.

"Damn I wish Hiei were here to see me do this!" Yusuke said as he shot his Spirit Gun at the two girls, blowing them away.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kuwabara panicked. "What're you doing Urameshi! You just killed them!"

-----Spirit World-----

Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara marched in through the Spirit World gates and right to Koenma's office. Yusuke kicked the door opened only to find a surprised George look up from Koenma's desk.

"Alright, where's pacifier breath?" Yusuke asked.

"He's away right now," George answered like Koenma had asked him to.

"Away my ass!" he argued.

"Yeah! That guy never leaves this place!" Kuwabara agreed.

"It's very important," Kurama said calmly.

"I realize that, but I'm afraid he's away for the moment," George repeated.

"I think that's a lie," Kurama accused openly, knowing for a fact that Koenma wasn't away.

George shifted nervously.

"Now, if you'd be so kind as to tell us where Koenma _really_ is…" he said calmly.

-----Couple Minutes Later-----

The door to Koenma's private office slammed opened, making him jump. He looked up with a stunned expression on his face.

"Y-Yusuke! Kurama! Kuwabara!" he exclaimed, obviously shocked at their arrival.

"Alright, what's going on?" Yusuke asked.

"What do you mean?" Koenma asked, pretending to be clueless.

"Don't play du—"

"The girls, all of them, were attacking us," Kurama said, cutting the impatient detective off.

"What gives you that idea?" he questioned, knowing that it was pointless.

"When Keiko starts trying to kill me with a friggin knife!" Yusuke shouted.

"_And_ when Yukina wants to kill Kuwabara," Kurama added, making Koenma sweat drop even more as he apparently held back a laugh.

"I see she's finally let her true feelings out…" Koenma said jokingly.

"That's not funny dammit!" Kuwabara shouted, speaking up for the first time in a while. "Why is it that _I_ got double teamed by my love and Sis but you guys only get to fight one person each!"

"Joking aside, what's _really_ going on?" Kurama asked again, staring into the prince's eyes.

Koenma stared at the three who looked at him determinedly. He knew they wouldn't leave until they got an answer out of him.

"Alright," the prince sighed. "Rejuko has Yukina and the others…"

"What!" the three of them shouted at once.

"Why didn't you tell us!" Yusuke shouted.

"Wait until I finish," Koenma said calmly, the detectives settling down with great effort to listen to what he has to say. "If my assumption is correct, he wants to use them as bait."

"As if that wasn't already obvious…" Kuwabara mumbled.

"If you recall, a few months ago, I mentioned something about the Talismans of the Three Worlds," he continued, ignoring Kuwabara. "It takes a large amount of spirit energy, which I'm sure Rejuko won't feel like wasting, to activate it. More than that, not only does he have to activate one, but _two_ for whatever he's planning."

"And what does this have to do with Keiko and the others being captured?" Yusuke asked.

"He plans to paralyze us…" Kurama said more to himself than to answer his question. "If he holds them captive, we won't fight back. He intends to use our spirit energy instead, and to assure that we cooperate…"

"Are you serious?" Kuwabara asked.

"What the hell's wrong with you Koenma!" Yusuke shouted. "We could've done something if you told us earlier! Who's side are you on dammit!"

"I'm afraid I went wrong when I asked Akiya to join us," Koenma replied quietly. "From there, Rejuko only had to wait for everything to slide into place… he had us right from the beginning, and I'm afraid that it's drawing near the end now…"

There was no response from anyone.

"But… that isn't right…" Kuwabara said. "I mean, we can't just throw all the blame on Akiya! She didn't know this was gonna happen either!"

"I know," Koenma replied. "But it's hopeless now. It won't be long until he's ready to activate both talismans… it's already beyond our grasp. There's absolutely nothing we can do to stop this…"

The three detectives were surprised at the tone of Koenma's voice. It was sad and completely drained of hope.

"Where is this Rejuko shit head?" Yusuke asked, Koenma looking up at him as if he was stupid.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" he asked. "I said that it's too late! There's nothing we can do!"

"I don't give a shit what the hell you think right now. I sure as hell won't sit around and wait for my ass to get blown to pieces Koenma, and I don't think any of us are, including Hiei and Akiya."

"We might as well _attempt_ to stop this," Kurama agreed. "We've done the impossible before. I'm sure this time won't be any different."

"Rejuko is different from any enemy you've faced before!"

"C'mon! The only difference is that he's gonna get creamed more than all the others guys we've creamed before!" Kuwabara said confidently.

Koenma couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But—!" he cut himself off. The determined and confident look in the detectives' eyes had rekindled his hope, making a small smile appear on his face. _That's right. When did I care how hopeless a situation seemed? They've never failed me before, and they won't now…_

"Koenma?" Kurama called, seeing as how he had gone silent.

"We'll wait for Akiya and Hiei," he replied, sounding the complete opposite from the depressed tone he had used before. "Once they arrive, then I'll tell you guys what to do. Rejuko's already laid out the invitation. All we have to do is accept it."

-----Hiei and Akiya-----

The two were quietly walking back through the woods. Hiei was _still_ shocked from what had happened earlier between him and Akiya. He secretly glanced over at her.

_What am I doing…? _Hiei questioned himself. _This is ridiculous…_

He glanced at her over once more. Hiei noticed that Akiya seemed to be a bit nervous about something.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Something's… not right…" she replied as they both stopped and stared ahead.

"Like what?" Hiei asked again.

"I dunno," Akiya answered. "It feels like Hayate and the others are near… by…" she trailed off, slightly worrying Hiei. _This feeling is really making me uneasy… _

Suddenly, a chuckle was heard and echoed throughout the woods.

"Keen senses as always Akiya," complimented a familiar voice, one which the two of them dreaded whether they admitted or not.

Hiei was immediately on guard, ready to draw his katana the moment his enemy made the wrong move. Akiya's hand moved towards a kunai strapped on her thigh.

"Must we be so tense?" he asked as he stepped out into the clearing.

As they expected, it was Rejuko…

"This must be a coincidence," Rejuko said casually, as if they were friends or something along those lines. "Akiya, we haven't met in a while now. And you as well, Hiei was it?"

Neither of them replied.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he joked as he merely turned his body to the side to dodge the kunai that came from Akiya's direction.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Is that anyway to ask someone a question?" Rejuko asked, pretending to be offended as always.

Akiya threw another kunai at him to vent out her anger only to unexpectedly have someone jump out of the shadows to deflect it. Soon, one more person accompanied the first. Rejuko watched as Hiei and Akiya's faces showed a completely stunned impression though Hiei tried to hide it.

"K-Kohira… Keta…" Akiya said in disbelief.

"It's been a while…" Kohira greeted, Keta keeping silent.

Rejuko smirked. "Since we're all here, I'd like you two to meet my new… _subordinates_, other than the kids of course… you can come out."

Hiro appeared from the shadows.

"Akiya, glad to see you're doing well," he said.

Hiei looked around. "So where's the arrogant fool?" he asked.

"Right behind you…" he answered as Hiei turned around to see him with a kunai to Akiya's throat.

Hiei flinched.

"Now, now Hayate, don't harm her," Rejuko warned. "We're not here to kill anyone _this_ time."

Akiya was still too shocked to speak. True, she knew that Hiro and the others had attacked their village, but she didn't expect them to be on Rejuko's side. And more than that, _Hayate_, who would've killed anyone that threatened her, had a kunai to her neck.

"I'm sure I don't need to introduce you guys," Rejuko said, sick humored as always. "Anyways, we should be on our way now. See you soon…"

He walked by them with the others except for Hayate following. He had still yet to free Akiya. Hiei didn't move.

"You're not keeping your promise very well," Hayate said to Hiei. "I thought I told you to protect her…"

With no further comments, Hayate lowered the kunai and followed Rejuko. It took a few seconds before what Hayate said actually hit her.

"_I thought I told you to protect her…"_

She spun around to look at his disappearing back.

"Hayate!" she called out to him.

Akiya fell to her knees, alarming Hiei.

"Hey!" he yelled in concern as he knelt by her side.

She didn't respond in any way to him at all. She just sat there, staring dazedly ahead of her.

"Hey!" Hiei called again.

Akiya still didn't respond. She was lifeless.

"Hey!" he shouted, lifting her up by her shirt. "Snap out of it! Now!"

She slowly looked up at Hiei and simply stared at him. Suddenly, shocking Hiei once more, she wrapped her arms around him and fell to her knees again, holding him tightly. After a few seconds, Hiei finally recovered from his shock. He looked away, blushing ever so slightly. Hayate's words kept echoing in his mind.

"_I told you to protect her…"_

Hesitantly, mainly because he had never done this to anyone before, he put an arm around her comfortingly.

-----Thirty Minutes Later-----

The ogre had directed Hiei and Akiya to Koenma's private office.

"So, what were you two _doing_?" Kuwabara teased.

"Indeed, we've been waiting for quite a while now," Kurama indirectly agreed.

"I don't know what the hell they were doing and I don't care," Yusuke said. "All I care about is if you're ready to kick ass or not."

"Watch you back Detective. My sword might be sticking out of it," Hiei threatened.

"Trust me, this is one ass I've been waiting to kick for years now," Akiya said.

"Alright, let me give you all your next assignment," Koenma announced, feeling refreshed by everyone's strong determination to beat Rejuko.

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 21- The Mission Begins: A Whole Other World

Yusuke and the others go in pursuit of Rejuko and the girls in a whole different world. With obstacles and traps waiting for them around every corner, they're gonna have to be on full alert and watch their backs… especially for traitors…


	21. The Mission Begins: A Whole Other World

**dna-** srry ppl!i knoe i took a long time and i know this chapters really short 2 and i knoe it really sux cuz im horrible with fight scenes but im trying tho! hope its interesting!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 21- The Mission Begins: A Whole Other World**

"Alright, let me give you all your next assignment," Koenma announced, feeling refreshed by everyone's strong determination to beat Rejuko.

"I did a bit of research on a place called Gogyou," Koenma began, Akiya flinching and turning dead serious the moment she heard that name.

"Is that in the Makai?" Kurama asked.

"No, it's a completely separate world," he answered. "I'm sure Akiya is somewhat familiar with it, right?"

"Yeah," was all she said.

"I don't know much about that place, but it's a very dangerous place," Koenma said. "If you're not careful, you'll get killed before you know it."

"Sounds like fun," Yusuke joked in a serious tone.

"No, it doesn't," Koenma replied in a tone that was ten times more serious than Yusuke's was. "I'm serious this time. You may not make it out alive. You all know that… right?"

"Even if we didn't want to go before, we have no choice now," Kurama pointed out. "They have taken Yukina and the others captive."

"What!" Akiya asked.

It took Hiei everything he had to keep himself under control.

"As I've told you before, you may not make it out alive…" Koenma repeated.

"All the more reason for us to go," Yusuke said.

"Are you all sure?" he asked.

"We said we're sure! Now hurry up already!" Kuwabara said impatiently.

"The idiot's ready to die is what he meant," Hiei remarked.

"What! You little shrimp!" he hissed.

"Very well then," Koenma said as a portal was summoned.

"We'll see ya in a little while," Yusuke said as he and the other detectives headed toward the portal.

"I hope you all weren't planning to leave me behind," came a familiar voice.

Everyone turned towards the door to see Genkai.

-----At the Village-----

Imaru was gathering his weapons and was about to leave when his office door slammed opened.

"Imaru-sama!" It was Jiruma. "Please take me with you!"

-----Gogyou--At Rejuko's Palace-----

"Rejuko-sama, it seems that they have arrived at Gogyou," a girl with waist long dark purple hair and light blue eyes informed him.

"Is that so Shiburi?" he asked. "Why don't you go out to greet them?"

"Yes sir…"

He turned to look at the Spirit Cage that he had created which trapped Yukina and the others inside.

-----The Detectives-----

They all landed in Gogyou.

"The place seems normal enough…" Hiei said.

"Normal!" Kuwabara repeated. "What the hell's normal about this place! I mean, look!"

The sky was red. The ground was brownish-grey. More than that, the place gave them all a really bad feeling.

"Quite whining!" Yusuke said.

"This is Hiei we're talking about Kuwabara," Kurama reminded. "You shouldn't be surprised."

Genkai smacked Yusuke on the head, making him fall over.

"What the hell was that for!" he shouted at the old woman.

"Stop playing around and start walking!" Genkai ordered.

"All I said was _quite whining_ you old hag!" Yusuke shouted. "How the hell is that playing aro—!"

Suddenly, they all felt a jolt in their body.

"Did you feel that?" Kurama asked Hiei.

Hiei nodded in response. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a quick blur.

"Move!" Genkai alarmed everyone.

Everyone whipped around and felt something headed for them. They quickly jumped out of way, Yusuke and Kuwabara escaping with a small cut on their shirts.

"Alright, who the hell did that!" Yusuke shouted as a girl move into view.

"Shiburi…" Akiya said to herself.

"It's been a while… Akiya-san," Shiburi said.

Yusuke dodged another one of her attacks and moved next to Akiya.

"Who the hell is she?" he asked her. "What the hell is she attacking us with?"

"She's Shiburi from the Hakira Clan," she replied. "People from the Hakira Clan have special particles in their bodies that can harden and be used as a weapon. And more than that, those particles can be used in so many different ways it's not even funny."

"Man! Some welcome this is!" Kuwabara complained.

Shiburi started to make hand seals. Akiya realized what technique she was going to use immediately and performed her own series of hand seals.

"Sandstorm Technique!" Shiburi yelled as she slammed her hang against the ground.

Sand rose up and started to crash down at the detectives and Genkai.

"Rock Wall Technique!" Akiya shouted as a huge wall of rocks rose from the ground and protected everyone from getting buried by the sand.

Suddenly, they heard a couple of familiar voices.

"Mist Binding Technique!"

"Rain of Needles Technique!"

"It's useless," they heard Shiburi say.

The sandstorm subsided and Akiya's wall crumbled.

"Imaru-sama! Jiruma-san!" Akiya called as the two of them joined the detectives.

"Shards of Dust Technique," Shiburi said as tiny particles, barely visible for the ninjas and the detectives to see flew at them.

"Move!" Imaru ordered.

He held out one of his hands and created a spiritual shield in front of everyone, protecting them from Shiburi's attack.

"Jiruma!" he shouted.

"Yes sir!" Jiruma shouted as she pulled out a metal ball.

"That technique…" Akiya said to herself.

"What?" Genkai asked as Yusuke looked at her curiously.

"Scattered Rain Technique!" Jiruma shouted.

"A technique where you pour your spirit energy into a Tsukirada, a special type of thin metal ball that can expand. Then you let it explode. The needlelike things will scatter everywhere… an unavoidable technique for the enemy. The more energy you put into it, the deadlier it is. If it's raining, no matter how you try to avoid it, you'll get wet no matter how little. That's how the Scattered Rain Technique works…" Akiya explained.

"W-whoa…" Kuwabara replied as he and the others watched the actual thing happen before their eyes. As Akiya had said, Shiburi couldn't avoid the technique. The needles pierced her from all directions, making her fall to her knees and cough out blood.

_This all seems too easy…_ Kurama thought as he glanced over at Hiei, knowing that he thought the same thing he did.

While everyone had their guard down, no one had noticed that Shiburi had suddenly disappeared from her spot.

"Too slow," Hiei said calmly as everyone turned around to find that Shiburi was beside him. Hiei had his sword through her stomach. Suddenly, Shiburi started to turn to dust and blew away in the wind.

"Too slow…" they heard Shiburi's voice from behind Hiei.

A sword formed in her hand as she brought it down towards Hiei. He easily sidestepped it as he appeared behind her.

"Still too slow…" they heard Shiburi again. Everyone turned around to see her sword was sticking through Hiei's back and out his stomach on the other side. "It's over for you."

"Please, don't flatter yourself," Hiei said behind her. "I can still go faster than that."

"Alright!" Kuwabara cheered. "Go get em shorty!"

Akiya noticed bits of particles starting to appear.

"Get away from her!" she alarmed Hiei who jumped back right as the sharp particles exploded out of her body and surrounded her.

-----Koenma's Office-----

"Ogre, I need you to go into the vault and get something for me," Koenma said to him.

"Hm? Oh, yes sir," George said as he looked up from the paper work that he was helping the prince out with. "What is it?"

"I need you to get the Energy Gem for me," he instructed. "You know where that is, right?"

George looked at Koenma a bit confused. "Yes sir," he replied without question even though his curiosity nearly killed him. He made his way out of the office and headed toward the vault. _I wonder what Koenma-sama needs the Energy Gem for… it's used for sucking out spirit energy and other things like that, but why would he need something like that? And why has Botan been gone for so long? Koenma-sama keeps saying that she's **away** but even **I** can see through that excuse… I wonder if Yusuke and the others know something I don't…_

-----Gogyou—Rejuko's Palace-----

"Why… why are you doing this?" Yukina asked. "What's there to gain from us? What do we have that you want?"

"I need nothing from you girls, but I _do_ have need for the guys that came to rescue you, one in particular," Rejuko replied, calm as always.

"W-what's going on…?" Shiori asked. She was terrified. Since she had no idea about demons or about Kurama or anything else, she had no clue what was going on. She was, after all, just a human who lived a normal human life, thinking that Kurama was _Shuichi_, her human child. She didn't even know who she was trapped with.

"What do you want with Yusuke and Kuwabara and the others!" Keiko asked.

"That'll depend," he answered. "I might take his life, or perhaps his spirit energy, or I may need nothing at all."

"He's my son! You can't take him from me!" Atsuko yelled. She had no idea what was going on either, but her tough exterior and her worry for Yusuke drove out any fear that she had at the moment. "You can't talk about his life like it were nothing!"

"You're son's life is nothing compared to my daughter's," he replied coldly. "No one here is anything compared to my daughter…"

-----Ninjas and Detectives-----

Shiburi's particles surrounded her. Hiei drew his katana and got ready to jump at her.

"No!" Akiya alerted, grabbing Hiei's arm. "Those particles will kill anyone who gets close! Close range combat is out of the question now!"

"Fine then!" Yusuke replied confidently as his index finger started to glow a bright blue. "Spirit Gun!"

The blast neared Shiburi who did nothing to avoid the blast. Right before his Spirit Gun hit her, the particles gathered and formed a translucent wall. The Spirit Gun hit the wall instead and bounced back at the detectives and the others.

"Watch out!" Genkai shouted as everyone evaded the attack.

Kurama pulled out a rose.

"Rose Whip!" he yelled as he lashed out his whip at Shiburi.

She jumped out of the way, easily dodging it. But she didn't expect his whip to attack her from behind as well. Trying to avoid it at the last minute, she jumped to the side, but the Rose Whip still hit her. It made a deep cut beside her stomach as she fell to her knees, finding that it was hard to move.

"You've been poisoned with my Rose Whip," Kurama said. "If you keep fighting, the poison is going to kill you faster."

"Are you saying I should give up?" Shiburi asked in an amused tone. "If I'm going to die either way, I might as well go down fighting."

"W-what!" Kuwabara asked.

"Man these guys are insane," Yusuke said.

"They have no fear of death. That's good," Hiei replied as he got ready to attack with his katana again.

"That won't work!" Akiya warned him again.

"You were saying?" Hiei asked.

The others turned to where Shiburi was standing. Hiei was standing quite a distance away from her. Suddenly, blood sprayed out near where Kurama's Rose Whip had hit. Imaru and Jiruma stared in amazement and shock. They hadn't even seen him move until he spoke. Neither did anyone else.

_But that kind of speed…_ Akiya thought. _That speed can only be by obtaining **that** attack… by mastering **its** powers… only Hayate and I can do that though… when did Hiei…_

Hiei was about to attack again but found that he was unable to move. The others stared in surprise.

"Did you really think that I couldn't dodge that?" Shiburi asked. "Akiya-san, even _you_ don't know about this. There're particles in my blood as you told everyone, so anyone who comes into contact with my blood will be paralyzed when the particles enter through your skin and block the signals from your brain to your body. You're useless now."

_That hot headed fool…_ Genkai thought.

"Shiburi… why would you work for someone like Rejuko?" Akiya asked.

"You wouldn't understand," she replied as she performed a series of hand seals. "Transparent Vortex Technique."

They all waited, wondering anxiously and nervously about what was going to happen. All of a sudden, they felt themselves being lifted off the ground and they started to rotate in circles, going higher and higher each time. Then what felt like thousands of needles pierced through their body completely, going in one side of their body and out the other. After a few seconds, the attack stopped as everyone fell to the ground, struggling to get back to their feet again.

"Are you too scared to attack me?" Hiei mocked as Shiburi turned to face him.

"You're in no condition to be provoking—" she stopped mid-sentence when Hiei's jagan burned off his headband.

"Don't be a fool," Hiei said, his third eye glowing. "I'm stronger than you think."

Hiei's jagan took care of all the particles in his body that were supposedly suppose to stop him from being able to move or do anything else.

"And you should watch your back," he warned her as Genkai hit Shiburi with her Sprit Gun.

"Wow, so the old hag's still half alive," Yusuke said as he stood next to Genkai.

"You're going to be next," Genkai threatened.

"Half alive with no sense of humor… old people," he muttered as Hiei joined everyone else.

"Actually…" Shiburi said. "I think it should be _you_ guys should be the ones watching your back."

And right on cue, a large blast of black fire rushed at them. They all barely dodged it. When they turned to see who had attacked them, they stared in shock and disbelief.

"N…no way…" Kuwabara managed to say.

Imaru and Jiruma stared just as confused, if not more than anyone else was.

"… …Aki...ya… …?" Kurama said, still overwhelmed with disbelief.

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 22- Judas

All that time, had Akiya really meant to betray them all from the start? Earning their trust and then throwing it aside like trash… is this really who she is? How can the detectives and the ninjas fight someone who has earned their deepest sincerity? Hiei will have to chose between his sister and Akiya's life… and also, Rejuko thinks back to the time when his daughter hadn't gone missing all those years ago…


	22. Judas

**dna**- srry i havent updated in a while. this chapter took a lot longer than expected so i apologize for the long wait. for those who are interested, i have a bleach story up now, so feel free to check it out if u want. enjoy!

**Run Away Forever Chapter 22- Judas**

"… …Aki… ya… …" Kurama said, still overwhelmed with shock and disbelief.

There was silence as everyone tried to convince themselves that this was just an act, but she was dead serious.

"Wha… what're you doing?" Kuwabara asked, breaking the silence.

"Don't misunderstand. My job was to bring you here," Akiya replied as she joined Shiburi's side.

"You had this planned from the start! All those years ago when we took you in!" Imaru growled.

"Ninjas are deceiving," she replied. "You should know that yourself old man."

Genkai still couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had known Akiya for a very long time now, and she never seemed the type to throw someone's trust away so carelessly. But her shock was nowhere near Hiei's shock. He did a decent job hiding it, but truthfully, he was more shocked and betrayed than anyone else was. However, Akiya saw through him and smirked.

"We could've had something Hiei," Akiya said. "But you just moved too slow."

Everyone turned towards Hiei who had a stern look hiding what he really felt inside. What had Akiya meant when she said that they could've had something? What was going on? However, no one asked anything.

"If only you'd swallowed your pride, but you couldn't even do that much for me," Akiya continued with her smirk. "Instead, you tried to deny everything. I gave you so many chances, but you threw them all away."

"Wait… Akiya…" Kurama said. "This is unreasonable…"

"Is it?" she asked as she performed a series of hand seals. "Ground Hold Technique."

The detectives and Jiruma and Imaru all glanced down to see that their feet had sunk down in the sand.

"I-I can't move!" Kuwabara shouted.

"And you think anyone else can!" Yusuke asked, trying to find a way to get out of Akiya's attack.

"Akiya-san! Please stop this!" Jiruma shouted.

"There's no being reasonable with something like that!" Imaru replied angrily.

Hiei was still speechless. He hadn't even attempted to escape from the attack even though he could have.

"Shiburi-san," Akiya said as she stepped next to her.

"Of course," she replied as she took a step forward. Particles started to flow out of her body as the detectives nervously watched. "Compression Technique…"

The particles surrounded the detectives and bonded together, forming a huge translucent wall. It closed in on them, and then suddenly, it smashed shut.

"Barrier! Activate!" they heard Imaru shout as a bright blue barrier blasted the wall of particles away, also freeing their legs from Akiya's attack, surprising her and Shiburi.

"Impressive," Akiya complimented. "I didn't think you'd be able to think clearly enough. Obviously, I underestimated you."

"I still don't believe this…" Kuwabara said, trying to convince himself as well as everyone else that this was all an act. "It's not true… I mean, c'mon… I know we didn't talk much with each other, but I know you enough to know that you'd never let us down… Akiya?"

"What are you? A drama queen?" she asked emotionlessly with the same smirk on her face. "You should listen to yourself. It's too pathetic."

"Akiya-san," Shiburi interrupted. "It seems they think you're not serious. Should we show them they're wrong?"

"We should," she replied as they turned their attention back to the detectives and the others who were paralyzed from shock.

"Prism Technique," Shiburi said after taking her time performing the hand seals.

A hexagonal box suddenly appeared around each person, trapping them inside. Genkai snapped back to reality first as she tried to break out of the box.

"Don't waste your time," Shiburi said. "This technique traps your spirit energy inside your body, and physical attacks are useless. There's no way to get out unless I set you free."

"You seem to have forgotten, _we_ are ninjas as well," Imaru said from behind them. The box had merely captured a clone that disappeared.

Akiya and Shiburi turned around to see Imaru and Jiruma.

"Pit Hole Technique!" Imaru shouted after swiftly performing a series of hand seals and slamming one hand into the ground.

The ground beneath Akiya and Shiburi quickly began to collapse. In a matter of seconds, the solid dirt turned to quick sand and disappeared. However, the two of them easily dodged the attack.

"Spirit Seal!"

It was Imaru again. He was already behind Akiya and Shiburi. The two of them prepared to jump out of the way but Jiruma prevented them from doing so. While they were distracted with Imaru, she had quickly placed a Movement Sealing Talisman on each of them. Imaru hit them each in the stomach with his glowing red hands.

_Shit!_ Akiya and she and Shiburi both fell to the ground.

"It's no use now Akiya-san," Jiruma said as she returned to Imaru's side. "You can't use your spirit energy anymore. Please stop this now!"

Shiburi took out a kunai as did Akiya.

"Hmph," Imaru snorted as he and Jiruma also pulled out their kunai knives.

Akiya jumped in first but abruptly stopped short when Shiburi fell to her knees. The detectives were suddenly released from her attack.

"Shiburi-san!" Akiya said alarmed as she teleported next to her. Shiburi seemed to be gasping and holding the side of her stomach in pain. "The Rose Whip!" she remembered. _The poison must be spreading through her body fast by now!_ "Shiburi-san," Akiya said again as she helped her stand up. "Hold on just a bit!"

Akiya gently slung Shiburi over her shoulder and jumped back. The others stared at her, slowly registering everything that had just happened. Akiya reached back and grabbed a smoke bomb. She threw it on the ground as it exploded, all of the detectives coughing and blinded. When the smoke finally cleared, they looked up to see that she was already gone.

"She… she really went…" Kuwabara said.

"Great… what a pain in the ass," Yusuke replied in a serious tone. "Now we've got one more person to bring back…"

"Stop complaining and move it!" Genkai ordered, putting on a tough front like she always does in these kinds of situations.

She walked ahead of everyone as the detectives soon followed behind. Jiruma was about to follow but stopped when Imaru didn't make a move.

"Imaru-sama," she called quietly.

"That girl…" he replied, sadness clearly sounding in his voice. "She's not that kind of person…"

Jiruma kept quiet and listened.

"We're going Jiruma," Imaru said as he followed the detectives, his assistant right behind him. "We're going to bring her back…"

-----Shiburi and Akiya-----

"Shiburi-san, please hold on a bit longer!" Akiya said as she rushed to Rejuko's palace carrying Shiburi on her shoulder. "We're almost there!"

Sure enough, they both arrived within the next five minutes. The guards let them both through as they entered the palace and headed straight to where Rejuko was. When he saw them enter, he went to their side.

"This is surprising," Rejuko replied calmly as he looked at Shiburi. "What happened?"

"I apologize. It was my mistake," Akiya said bowing respectfully. "Imaru-san and Jiruma-san have come as well. I was fighting against Shiburi-san to catch them off guard, but I was a bit too careless…"

"Is that so?" he replied calmly like the last time. "Well, it's okay either way. The injury's not a problem."

Rejuko's hand glowed bright blue as he held it over Shiburi's wound. In less than three seconds, she seemed perfectly fine again.

"I apologize for my carelessness," Shiburi replied. "Should we confront them again?"

"No," he said. "You two have done well. Shiburi, rest. I will need you later.

"Yes sir," Shiburi replied as she exited the room.

"Akiya, _you_ go out and deal with them for now. Make sure they are where they need to be for our plan to fall into place. And then come back. Do _not_ do anything more than that. If they start to attack you or you feel you are in danger, come back immediately," Rejuko ordered.

"Yes sir," Akiya replied as she too exited the room.

Rejuko sat back down in his chair and stared absentmindedly ahead of him.

_Where did you go… Moriko…?_

_**-----Ten Years Ago-----**_

"_Otou-chan?" Moriko called, tugging on the sleeve of her father's shirt._

"_What is it?" Rejuko asked as he looked up at his daughter. _

"_Look! I scored first in the kunai and shuriken target competition! All my teachers were really proud cuz they said that I was the youngest person there!"_

"_That's my little girl!" he replied happily as he picked Moriko up and hugged her tightly. "Go show Okaa-chan too!"_

_He put her down as she ran into the kitchen._

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" _

_Rejuko spun around._

"_Moriko!" he called as he rushed to the kitchen. His eyes widened as he stared at his wife on the ground, laying in her own pool of blood with three kunai knives sticking out of her back. "A-Anji!" _

"_Okaa-chan! Okaa-chan!" Moriko cried. _

"_Anji!" Rejuko shouted as he quickly tried to heal her. "Anji! Hold on!"_

"_Re… juko…" she said, barely above a whisper._

"_Don't speak!" he ordered. "Moriko! Hurry! Call a medical squad over!" _

"_Scared… I'm scared Otou-chan!" she replied trembling._

"_Moriko!" Rejuko said sternly, trying to stay calm. "Be strong for Otou-chan and Okaa-chan, okay? Go call the medical squad. Hurry!"_

_Moriko nodded weakly as tears streamed down her eyes. She turned around and ran out of the house to get help._

"_God dammit!" Rejuko cursed. "Don't worry honey! I'll save you! Just hold on! You'll be fine!"_

"_It's no good… it's too late dear…" Anji replied quietly._

"_No! No it's not!" he assured himself as he tried desperately to heal her. "I'll save you! Somehow… I'll do it!" _

"_Moriko… don't lose her… Rejuko…" she whispered. "Please look after our child…"_

"_Stop it Anji! Stop saying those things! We're going to look after her together!" _

"_Rejuko…" Anji said, sliding her hand into her husbands hand as it stopped glowing. She smiled weakly._

"_Who…?" Rejuko asked as tears started to escape his eyes. "Who the hell did this to you? Honey…? It was them, wasn't it? Those goddamn ninjas from that village… that old man, Imaru…"_

"_Stop… don't go after them…" she replied. "Promise me you won't…"_

"_But Aniji!" he objected. _

"_You have to look after Moriko!" she said as sternly as she could in her condition, coughing up blood in the process. _

"_Okay, okay!" Rejuko quickly said, concerned for her health. "I promise! Anything you want, I'll do it!"_

"_Thank you… Rejuko…" she said, barely even a whisper anymore. "Be a good father like you've always been to Moriko… don't ever let her go… protect her… with everything… you have…"_

"_Anji…!" he called as he squeezed her hand tightly, tears flooding from his eyes now. _

"_I love you… dear… …" _

"_Otou-chan!" Moriko called as he heard her dash to the kitchen with the medical squad. "Otou—"_

_She cut herself off. Rejuko was holding the limp and lifeless body of his wife in his arms, crying… wishing that there was something he could've done to save her. The little girl fell to her knees. _

"_O… kaa… chan…" Moriko whispered as the medics rushed to her mother. "Okaa-chaaaan!" _

_-----Two Years Later-----_

"_Moriko!" Rejuko called with a huge smile on his face._

"_What is it?" she asked as she went over to him._

"_Close your eyes!" he said, Moriko doing what she was asked. "Okay, open them now."_

_Moriko felt something around her neck and looked down at the necklace that her father had just given her. It was sparkling a beautiful deep blue. A happy smile grew on Moriko's face._

"_Otou-chan! This is… so beautiful!" she replied, staring at it in awe. _

"_I knew you'd like it!" he said. _

"_Thank you so much!" Moriko exclaimed as she hugged Rejuko tightly, him hugging her back._

_-----Couple Months Later-----_

"_Where're you going?" Rejuko asked, seeing his daughter packing quite a few things up in a small bag._

"_Oh, I have a mission today Otou-chan," Moriko replied as she slung the backpack on her shoulders._

"_Where?" he asked again._

"_Over in the next few villages to the south," she answered, her father giving her a concerned look. "Don't worry Otou-chan. I'll be back in a few days."_

"_Be careful Moriko…" he said._

"_I will," she replied as he watched her walk out of the door._

_**That was the last time I saw her… I should've stopped her from going, but I didn't do anything. I had already lost Anji… I didn't want to lose you too Moriko… you were the most important person to me. **_

_**Later, I found out that the village you went to was the one Imaru was at. The old man who mercilessly killed Anji… but when I went to get you back, you weren't there… where did you go… Moriko? I was determined to find you, but no matter what I did… nothing helped. It was like you had disappeared. **_

_**I trained myself like a madman. If I had to be the strongest guy in the universe, I would become that strong just to find you. It wasn't only because of the promise I made to Anji… you were the only thing I had left… the one thing that made me look forward to living each day… the one thing that made me feel alive. Even though you were that important to me… I let you go so carelessly…**_

_**Those asses who gave you the mission didn't even give a damn what happened. "You daughter was a ninja! Ninjas are only tools for people to use!" That was their excuse. They didn't have to go out there and fight. They didn't have anything to lose at all. They just sat on their asses and watched as everyone else kill or got killed.**_

_**Since the day I lost you, I swore to change the way ninjas were looked upon. I swore to make everyone else feel the pain that we had to deal with. Not only you and me, but everyone else who was like us…** **and I swore to get revenge, not for Anji's death, but for taking away Moriko… I knew you weren't dead… I believed with my whole being that you were still alive somewhere. **_

_**But then, I started to lose confidence. As more time passed, I started to doubt myself. I found myself… telling myself that you couldn't have been alive after all of those years. And that was when I heard about the talismans… "If one were to know how to use its true powers, one could do the forbidden and resurrect the dead with it." That was what I heard… and also… it would be able to find anyone as well… I went through the trouble of finding them, but what I hadn't expected was that the Light Talisman was inside a girl… **_

_**Moriko… Otou-chan hasn't forgotten about you… I will find you no matter what… even if the world stands in my way, I will find you… for Anji and for me… it was a promise I made to myself… **_

_**For that, I threw away everything…my pride… my humanity… I became a merciless demon. I killed everyone in my way, whether they were just villagers or ninjas or humans… it didn't matter to me. I became the thing I promised not to become… all for you Moriko… come back to Otou-chan… tell me where you are…**_

-----Detectives-----

Everyone walked in silence, not uttering the slightest noise. Suddenly, Genkai stopped.

"What's wrong?" Yusuke asked.

She didn't reply. Yusuke looked up to see Akiya. Everyone else did as well.

"Akiya!" Kurama called in surprise.

"I see you're all doing well since I left," she said.

"You're back!" Kuwabara cried. "You're back with us again, right!"

"You really _are_ stupid, aren't you?" Akiya asked with a tired sigh. "That wasn't an act. I told you, I was never on your side. Why can't you get that through your head?"

"How long has it been since you were on his side Akiya?" Genkai asked.

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time," she said. "I was never on your side."

The two ninjas were silent.

"Is that all you came for?" Genkai asked again.

Akiya smirked and teleported away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Yusuke shouted after her as Hiei followed her quickly.

Akiya looked back at Hiei and smirked, abruptly stopping.

"This is unexpected," Akiya remarked sarcastically. "You gonna keep coming after me?"

Hiei stared at her.

"So it's really true," he said, completely masking his true feelings. "You were never on our side. Everything was a lie."

"Someone finally gets it," Akiya replied.

"You had this plotted from the start," Hiei said. "Everything since the beginning didn't matter at all. It didn't mean anything."

"Instead of worrying about all of this junk, why not worry about your sister more Hiei?" Akiya asked emotionlessly. "It's come to that time where you have to choose between family and friend."

Akiya walked away from Hiei, but after a couple steps, she stopped and turned her head to him, looking him in the eyes.

"But you know… what we had wasn't a lie…" Akiya said, her voice soft and gentle as if regretting everything. "I don't know if that's something that mattered to you or not… but I thought you might've wanted to know regardless… at least not _everything_ was a lie."

With that, she left, leaving Hiei where he was as Yusuke and the others had finally caught up.

"Aw man! Did she already leave?" Kuwabara complained.

"Hn," Hiei replied, ignoring Kuwabara as he walked in the opposite direction.

Kurama eyed him, knowing that something had happened. Genkai too, could also sense something had occurred. However, neither spoke up.

"Great… now whadda we do?" Yusuke asked.

"What the hell do you mean?" Genkai remarked. "We're going to bring her back too."

"I meant _that_!" Yusuke shouted with a vein on his head as the others finally noticed that they were surrounded by copies of themselves…

-----Next Chapter's Preview-----

Run Away Forever Chapter 23- The Dark Talisman

While the detectives as well as Jiruma and Imaru are fighting their clones, the kids retrieve the Dark Talisman for Rejuko. With the Dark Talisman in the hands of their worst enemy, the detectives are in for some major trouble, especially when Rejuko has collected information on their strength without even meeting them…


End file.
